Is the Department of Labor (DOL) overtime rule now dead? Will the overtime rule be modified to a more modest version? Much uncertainty remains regarding the recently announced overtime rule in both the legal and the political sphere.

The Legal Landscape

In a ruling announced on Nov. 22, just days before a Dec. 1 effective date, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas halted nationwide the effectiveness of the new regulations. These regulations would have more than doubled the salary level required to be paid by employers to those employees who are classified as exempt from receiving overtime pay.

The DOL has appealed the ruling, and the court has granted the DOL’s request for the appeal to be heard on an expedited basis.

The Current Political Landscape

Trump has appointed a known opponent of the new overtime rule to be Secretary of Labor. Some Congressional Republicans are planning an attempt to revoke the new regulations in the new Congress through use of the Congressional Review Act.

The legal and political landscape has created uncertainty, and many employers wonder what to expect. A more detailed analysis is herein, but several strategies are being explored on both fronts, either to halt the rule in its entirety, or to modify its dramatic increase of the salary level to a more modest “phased-in” approach.