Federal judge ends Biden administration's overtime expansion rule

A federal judge in Texas on Friday dismissed a Biden administration Department of Labor rule that would have expanded overtime eligibility for millions of salaried employees.

The ruling blocks a rule that employers offer overtime premiums to salaried workers who make less than $58,600 a year when they work over 40 hours a week, per Reuters. The rule will now return to a $35,500 threshold set in 2019.

If the new rule had been allowed to take effect, it would have done so on Jan. 1, 2025.

U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan, who was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump in his first administration, said the rule change went beyond the Department of Labor's authority.

“The Department’s changes to the minimum salary level in the 2024 Rule exceed its statutory jurisdiction,” Jordan wrote, according to Bloomberg. “The minimum salary level imposed by the 2024 Rule ‘effectively eliminates’ consideration of whether an employee performs ‘bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity’ duties, in favor of what amounts to a salary-only test.”

You can read the ruling here.

Employers that challenged the rule had argued that it would have greatly increased payroll costs for employers, which would result in fewer jobs and fewer shifts.

Jordan's new ruling will now be applied nationwide.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.