UPDATE AUGUST 25, 2024 – Extra States Be a part of Texas in Difficult the New Guidelines
There may be nonetheless uncertainty whether or not the US Division of Labor’s new exempt worker wage thresholds guidelines will survive the authorized challenges. Nevertheless, there was some significant motion that will get us nearer to the reply.
Japanese District of Texas lawsuits have been consolidated
Two circumstances have been filed within the Japanese District of Texas difficult the DOL’s new guidelines.
- One case, as mentioned within the prior replace, concerned the state of Texas.
- The opposite case concerned the next companies and organizations: Texas Restaurant Affiliation; Nationwide Affiliation of Wholesaler-Distributors; American Lodge and Lodging Affiliation; Plano Chamber of Commerce; Dase Blinds; Nationwide Affiliation of House Builders; Related Builders and Contractors; Nationwide Retail Federation, Cooper Common Contractors; Nationwide Federation of Unbiased Enterprise, Inc.; Worldwide Franchise Affiliation; Restaurant Regulation Heart; and Nationwide Affiliation of Comfort Shops.
On June 28, 2024, the Japanese District of Texas consolidated each circumstances to “keep away from pointless price or delay, and since the above-captioned circumstances share widespread questions of legislation or reality.”
What makes this consolidation necessary isn’t a lot that it occurred however to which decide the consolidated circumstances have been assigned. They have been assigned to District Decide Sean D. Jordan, and Decide Jordan already granted the State of Texas’ movement to quickly keep the brand new guidelines.
Abstract judgment motions have been filed
On July 18, 2024, the companies and organizations difficult the DOL’s new guidelines filed their Movement for Abstract Judgment and on July 25, 2024, the State of Texas filed its Movement for Abstract Judgment. The aim of this movement is to present the Decide a possibility to find out, based mostly on the info supplied by the events, whether or not the DOL’s new guidelines are opposite to the restrictions of the Truthful Labor Requirements Act as a matter of legislation.
On August 8, 2024, the US Division of Labor filed its personal Movement for Abstract Judgment and its opposition to the abstract judgment motions of the opposing events.
Either side will now be given a possibility to answer the opposite sides abstract judgment motions. It’s unsure how lengthy it would take for the events to file their responses as a result of it is not uncommon for events to request extensions time to file.
Many states have joined Texas difficult the brand new guidelines
On August 6, 2024, Decide Jordan granted the next states the flexibility to file a joint temporary difficult the DOL’s new guidelines:
| Arkansas | Indiana | Montana | South Carolina |
| Alabama | Iowa | Nebraska | West Virginia |
| Georgia | Louisiana | Ohio | |
| Idaho | Mississippi | Oklahoma |
The impression of the Supreme Court docket’s Loper case
On June 28, 2024, the US Supreme Court docket issued Loper Shiny Enterprises v. Raimondo. On this case, the Supreme Court docket overturned its prior Chevron USA v. NRDC choice that granted federal businesses some authorized safety from challenges to its interpretations of legal guidelines. With out this prior deference and safety, it’s cheap to consider that the DOL’s arguments in favor of the brand new guidelines will carry much less weight with Decide Jordan than earlier than.
UPDATE JULY 1, 2024 – Uncertainty Persists
On June 28, 2024, Decide Sean D. Jordan of the US District Court docket for the Japanese District of Texas delayed implication of the US Division of Labor’s new exempt worker guidelines BUT just for workers of the State of Texas. In line with the decide:
In sum, Texas has established that each one elements weigh in favor of granting a preliminary injunction,” Jordan wrote. “Texas is probably going to reach displaying that the 2024 Rule is an illegal train of energy, Texas can be irreparably harmed absent an injunction, and the steadiness of equities and the general public curiosity favor stopping illegal company motion.
As famous, though the decide delayed the brand new exempt worker guidelines, the delay applies solely to the State of Texas as an employer. In different phrases, solely the State of Texas, as an employer, is permitted to disregard the brand new DOL guidelines. This doesn’t apply to every other employers in Texas or every other state, who should adjust to the foundations.
For everybody besides workers of the State of Texas, the brand new guidelines turned impact on July 1, 2024. Nevertheless, there are nonetheless a number of lawsuits pending difficult the brand new guidelines that also might lead to a nationwide delay. Having a federal courtroom already figuring out the foundations are illegal ought to carry some weight within the different pending lawsuits; nonetheless, different federal district courts should not sure by the conclusions of Decide Jordan, and thus, they may uphold the DOL’s new guidelines. Thus, for everybody besides workers of the State of Texas, the uncertainty continues.
UPDATE JUNE 24, 2024
In line with the ABA Banking Journal, on June 24, 2024:
“A federal courtroom in Texas as we speak held a listening to to think about requests by enterprise teams and Texas Lawyer Common Ken Paxton for a short lived restraining order to cease the Division of Labor’s additional time remaining rule from taking impact on July 1.”
This listening to entails Texas v. U.S. Division of Labor, that was filed on June 3, 2024, within the U.S. District Court docket in Japanese Texas. In line with JD Supra:
“Texas requested the courtroom to put aside the minimal wage ranges within the 2024 laws as a result of, like the degrees within the 2016 laws, they ‘would exclude so many workers who carry out exempt duties, [that they fail] to hold out Congress’s unambiguous intent.’”
UPDATE MAY 22, 2024
On April 23, 2024, the US Division of Labor issued new guidelines growing the minimal salaries crucial for govt, administrative, skilled, outdoors gross sales, and pc workers to qualify as exempt for the Truthful Labor Customary Act’s (FLSA) minimal wage and additional time guidelines. The brand new wage threshold will increase are scheduled to begin on July 1, 2024.
Nevertheless, as anticipated, authorized challenges have been filed difficult the brand new guidelines. On Might 22, 2024, the Plano Chamber of Commerce, different enterprise teams, and a minimum of one firm filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court docket for the Japanese District of Texas to dam the brand new guidelines. The plaintiffs argue, a minimum of partly, that the DOL “acted arbitrarily, capriciously, and in any other case not in accordance with the legislation” when the brand new rule was issued.
If the plaintiffs within the case are profitable in acquiring a minimum of a short lived order, it’s probably the delay of the brand new guidelines will persist for a number of years till a call is issued by the courtroom on the benefit of the claims. Furthermore, if the rule is delayed and Trump is elected as president, it’s attainable the Trump’s DOL might withdraw its problem to the plaintiffs’ lawsuit basically killing the brand new guidelines.
Additionally, though it won’t impression the brand new rule or the lawsuit, on June 5, 2024, a lot of Congressmen filed Home Joint Decision 166 disapproving of the DOL’s new rule.
The New Rule
As a reminder, based on the DOL’s new rule, minimal salaries will improve as follows:
| DATE | STANDARD SALARY LEVEL | HIGHLY COMPENSATED EMPLOYEE TOTAL ANNUAL COMPENSATION THRESHOLD |
|---|---|---|
| Earlier than July 1, 2024 | $684 per week (equal to $35,568 per yr) | $107,432 per yr, together with a minimum of $684 per week paid on a wage or payment foundation. |
| July 1, 2024 | $844 per week (equal to $43,888 per yr) | $132,964 per yr, together with a minimum of $844 per week paid on a wage or payment foundation. |
| January 1, 2025 | $1,128 per week (equal to $58,656 per yr) | $151,164 per yr, together with a minimum of $1,128 per week paid on a wage or payment foundation. |
| July 1, 2027, and each 3 years thereafter | To be decided by making use of to out there knowledge the methodology used to set the wage stage in impact on the time of the replace. | To be decided by making use of to out there knowledge the methodology used to set the wage stage in impact on the time of the replace. |