September 1, 2017
Yesterday, Judge Amos Mazzant, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, struck down the Department of Labor’s proposed changes to the overtime rules that were previously set to take effect in December 2016. The proposed change would have set the minimum salary level required to qualify for the executive, administrative, or professional exemptions to $913 per week or $47,476 annually. This would have been a significant increase from the previous required salary level of $455 per week, or $23,660 annually. Judge Mazzant initially imposed an injunction in November 2016, which halted the rules from taking effect pending the decision in this case.
Judge Mazzant noted in his ruling that the Department of Labor is permitted to use an employee’s salary as part of the basis for overtime eligibility, but that the employee’s duties must also be properly taken into account. Judge Mazzant indicated that the increase in the salary threshold proposed by the Department of Labor was so significant that it would have made the duties performed by the employee essentially irrelevant.
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