A Texas judge has issued a preliminary injunction delaying implementation of the Department of Labor’s new overtime regulation, which was set to go into effect on Dec. 1.
Previous regulations stated that workers who made up to $23,660 per year were entitled to overtime pay for working more than 40 hours in a week. The new law casts a wider net to include anyone earning up to $47,476 a year. It is estimated that the regulation would have expanded overtime pay to approximately 4 million Americans.
U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant declared that the DOL’s update of the regulation exceeded its authority. The judge’s ruling effectively presses the pause button on the regulation. The Labor Department said in a statement that the court’s decision “has the effect of delaying a fair day’s pay for a long day’s work for millions of hardworking Americans.” The Department is currently considering all of its legal options.
