Final Determination Concerning Overtime Law Nears

In November, just days before the new overtime law was set to become effective, a federal district judge from Texas, Judge Amos Mazzant, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law from implementation. The Labor Department rule would have doubled the salary level at which hourly workers must be paid extra for overtime pay, from $23,660 to $47,476. While not making a final decision about the law at that time, the preliminary injunction served to temporarily halt the law which would have allowed millions more working Americans to earn overtime pay.

The judge has now said that he will refuse to stay the proceeding (he will no longer postpone hearing on the law). This means that he could provide a final determination concerning the law at any time, despite the fact that the Department of Labor has appealed the injunction.

With the new administration and new head of the department of labor, if the judge strikes down the salary threshold increase, it is unlikely that the decision will be appealed. However, this is not the end of the story for workers who make more than the threshold but still believe they are entitled to overtime pay. The salary threshold was just one element that had to be satisfied to be considered exempt. If your duties do not fall into the administrative, executive or professional exemptions, then you still may be considered “non-exempt” and entitled to overtime pay.

For more information or if you believe that you have been improperly denied overtime pay, please contact the knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for an immediate case evaluation.