"Dec 30 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas on Monday became the second to strike down a Biden administration rule that would extend mandatory overtime pay to 4 million salaried workers.
U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings in Lubbock, Texas in a brief order said he agreed with the reasoning laid out by a different judge in Sherman, Texas when he permanently blocked the rule in November, a few months after it took effect.
U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan in that decision said the U.S. Department of Labor rule improperly based eligibility for overtime pay on workers' wages rather than their job duties. Both judges are appointees of Republican presidents.
Monday's decision, which came in a challenge to the rule by small marketing firm Flint Avenue, has little practical impact because of Jordan's ruling. The incoming administration of Republican President-elect Donald Trump is widely expected to drop a pending appeal of Jordan's decision and withdraw the rule, which has been criticized by business groups.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which is defending the rule, did not respond to a request for comment.
Sheng Li, a lawyer for Flint Avenue at conservative group the New Civil Liberties Alliance, said: 'The court correctly stopped the Department’s unlawful attempt to usurp Congress’s power to set nationwide minimum pay standards.'
The rule would have required employers to pay overtime premiums to salaried workers who earn less than $1,128 per week, or about $58,600 per year, when they work more than 40 hours in a week, beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and it had temporarily raised the threshold to about $44,000 per year on July 1.
The previous threshold of about $35,500, which was set in 2019, went back into effect as a result of Jordan's November decision.
Federal law exempts workers with 'executive, administrative, and professional' (EAP) duties from receiving overtime pay, and the Labor Department has for decades used salary as one factor in deciding when that applies.
The Labor Department when it adopted the rule said that lower-paid salaried workers often do the same jobs as hourly employees but work more hours for no additional pay. The rule also established automatic increases in the salary threshold every three years to reflect wage growth.
Cummings on Monday agreed with Jordan's finding in consolidated lawsuits by Texas and several business groups that by substantially raising the salary level, the rule improperly jettisoned the duties requirement written into federal law.
The case is Flint Avenue v. U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No. 5:24-cv-00130.
For Flint Avenue: Sheng Li and John Vecchione of the New Civil Liberties Alliance; Karen Cook
For the Department of Labor: Brian Rosen-Shaud of the U.S. Department of Justice
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