On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in Sherman, Texas issued a temporary injunction blocking the new federal overtime salary regulations from taking effect on December 1st.
In September, THLA joined in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor in an effort to stop the new overtime regulations. Announced in 2015, the new DOL regulation would have increased the minimum salary threshold for overtime exemptions from $23,660 annually to $47,476 annually. This would mean that for a lodging property to lawfully characterize an employee as exempt from overtime, that employee will likely have to earn an annual salary of at least $47,476.
That new rule was slated to take effect on December 1, 2016, but that effective date has now been blocked.
From here, the future of the new overtime regulations becomes less clear. On the political front, to-date, President-Elect Trump has not made any public comments or released any policy documents on whether he supports or opposes the new higher salary requirements. Should a Trump Administration decide to rollback the new salary regulations, the Administration would have several options. A Trump-led DOL could release revised regulations, with a lower salary threshold, but this could take as long as a year to implement.
Or, a Trump Administration could choose not to defend the new regulations against our legal challenge, and let the courts overrule the new salary regulations.
Additionally, Congress could get in on the action. Currently, several bills are moving through the committee process in Congress. Some of these bills reverse the new higher salary requirement outright, while other bills offer a more gradual phase-in of higher salary requirements. Assuming Congress could pass such legislation, it would then go to the President's desk for his signature.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact a THLA attorney: / 512-474-2996.