SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

The uncertainty brewing over whether the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime rule would actually go into effect on Dec. 1, 2016, came to a halt on the afternoon of Nov. 22 when a Texas federal judge entered a nationwide injunction blocking the DOL from implementing its rule expanding overtime protections. 

A federal judge’s decision to block the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing its new persuader rule means employers may continue hiring legal counsel on unionization issues without facing an argument from the DOL that fees paid to legal counsel must be publicly disclosed.

As employers are all aware, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s new overtime rules are set to take effect Dec. 1, 2016. The rule, projected to cover some 4.2 million workers, will raise the minimum salary threshold for overtime exemption 101 percent from its current rate of $455 per week to $913 per week.