Texas Wins Final Judgment in “Overtime Rule” Case

Attorney General Ken Paxton announced yesterday that Texas, Nevada and 19 other states, won a final judgment from a federal district court ruling that invalidates the U.S. Department of Labor’s unlawful “Overtime Rule”.

The Obama-era edict more than doubled the salary threshold for a worker to be entitled to overtime.

It required employers to pay overtime to most salaried workers who earn less than $47,476 annually, a sharp increase from the annual salary limit of $23,660.

Many believed it would force state and local governments, as well as private businesses, to substantially increase their employment costs.

“I applaud the court’s ruling, which represents a victory for the American worker and prevents an unlawful revision of the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Marc Rylander, communications director for the Office of the Attorney General.  “The Overtime Rule limits workplace flexibility without a corresponding increase in pay and forces employers to cut their workers’ hours. This was one of the many egregious examples of federal overreach that occurred during the Obama era.”

Last November, a federal district court granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against the rule.

“The Final Rule…is contrary to the statutory text and Congress’s intent” and “Congress, and not the Department, should make that change,” the court wrote.

Texas and Nevada were joined in the lawsuit by Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin.