Obama overtime rule is struck down by U.S. judge in Texas
The same federal judge in Texas who blocked the Obama overtime rule last fall has struck it down permanently. The rule would have required employers to pay overtime to most salaried workers making up to $47,476 a year, up from the current limit of $23,660.
Twenty-one states had filed a suit challenging the rule, which applied to executive, administrative and professional workers. NADA had spent some time explaining to dealers which dealership positions would be affected.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant said a salary threshold, rather than a list of job duties, was an acceptable way to define who is eligible for overtime. But he said the $47,476 threshold was so high that it made an assessment of an employeeês job duties irrelevant. The high threshold would have included some managers, who are meant to be exempt from overtime rules. Overtime eligibility should be based on a combination of job duties and salary, the judge concluded.
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has indicated that he would like to revise the overtime rule so the salary threshold is set between the current level of $23,660 and the $47,476 that the recent ruling throws out. Under last weekês ruling, that revision would be permitted. The overtime regulations have not been changed since 2004, when the current salary level was set.
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