A federal judge in Texas blocked a U.S. Department of Labor rule on Friday that would have expanded overtime protections to salaried workers, Reuters reported.
U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan for the Eastern District of Texas said the rule that partially took effect in July wrongly based overtime eligibility on wages rather than job duties.
The rule would have expanded overtime pay eligibility to salaried workers earning less than $58,656 a year on January 1, 2025.
The previous rule set in 2019, which set the overtime pay eligibility to $35,568, will now go back into effect.
Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck praised the decision, stating in a news release, “This would have disrupted the construction industry, specifically harming small businesses, restricting employee workplace flexibility in setting schedules and hours, and hurting career advancement opportunities.”
