Texas judge blocks overtime law

A federal judge in Texas has issued a nationwide junction blocking the Department of Labor’s rule requiring overtime pay for more than four million new workers.

In a 20-page decision, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant ruled that 21 states and more than 50 business groups that sued to block the rule stood a significant chance of success and would suffer serious financial harm if the rule was put into effect as scheduled on Dec. 1. The judge wrote in his order that the Obama administration overstepped its authority by raising the salary cap below which all workers must receive overtime pay from $455 a week to $921 a week or $47,892 a year.

Green industry businesses have been working to comply with the new regulations, but now the overtime rule faces an uncertain future.

The Department of Labor issued a statement saying that it is considering its legal options. “We strongly disagree with the decision by the court, which has the effect of delaying a fair day’s pay for a long day’s work for millions of hardworking Americans,” the agency said.

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