Texas Judge Overturns Overtime Pay Rule

A federal judge in Texas permanently blocked a rule intended to raise the threshold for overtime pay for salaried workers. The rule raised the threshold from $684 per week, equivalent to $35,568 per year, to $844 per week, equivalent to $43,888 per year, on July 1, 2024. The threshold will drop back to the original threshold of $35,568 per year.

The rule would have required employers to pay overtime premiums to salaried workers who earned less than $1,128 per week, or about $58,600 per year, when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

U.S. District Justice Sean Jordan says the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rule that took effect in July improperly bases eligibility for overtime pay on workers’ wages, rather than their job duties. The state of Texas and business groups representing a range of industries had filed lawsuits challenging the rule, which had been consolidated.