As I wrote a few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a new rule that would increase the salary threshold for an overtime exemption up to $58,656, or $1,128 a week. I noted in that blog post that I expected business groups to oppose the new regulation by filing a lawsuit to block the new overtime rule, which is exactly what happened.
Yesterday, a collection of business groups filed a federal lawsuit in Texas that asks the court to strike down or block the new overtime rule as an improper use of the DOL’s power. Back in 2016, the DOL had issued a similar rule, and this same court ultimately struck that rule down as well. It appears that the business groups are attempting the same strategy in the same court. It’s likely that the business groups will seek a preliminary injunction (a court order issued at the beginning of a case) that would place a hold on the rule before it goes into effect on July 1, 2024. If so, the parties will have to file written briefs (arguments) sometime in June.
We may get a ruling as early as late June, but we’ll have to wait and see how the motion on the preliminary injunction goes. Often, the judge’s questions during a hearing can give some clue as to which may the judge may be inclined to rule.
In the meantime, for South Carolina employees, nothing much changes until at least July 1, 2024. At that time, if the court did not take any action to block the new overtime rule, then the increase would go into effect, and employees who are currently classified as exempt (not entitled to) overtime pay would have to have their pay increased to at least $1,128 per week in order to keep that exemption from overtime pay. If the company does not increase the pay, then the employee would then be entitled to overtime pay moving forward, for all hours worked over 40 in a given workweek.
If you are not getting paid overtime like you should because you’ve been improperly classified as exempt from overtime, then you should speak with a South Carolina FLSA lawyer about your legal options. Feel free to reach out to our office with any questions.