Trump Labor Department Rescinds Biden-Era Overtime Expansion (1)

The US Labor Department is rescinding a 2024 rule that sought to expand overtime eligibility for millions of workers.

The rescission, published in the federal register Thursday, formalizes the administration’s move away from the Biden-era regulation that was vacated by two district court judges. In its place, the DOL is reinstating the rule from the first Trump administration.

The overtime expansion, finalized under the Biden administration, would have altered the test to determine which workers are “bona fide executive, administrative, or professional” staff and therefore ineligible for time-and-a-half wages. It also raised the exemption threshold to $58,656 for white-collar workers.

The policy prompted a series of lawsuits, resulting in decisions from two federal judges who struck the change down before it could go into effect. The DOL last week dropped the appeals of those two decisions with the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Thursday’s final rule, titled a technical amendment by the DOL, didn’t go through the public comment and notice period. Because of the district court rulings, the department’s Wage and Hour Division has already been enforcing the law at the standards under the 2019 rule, according to the rule.

“Put simply, this action is a technical correction accounting for changes in the law that have already occurred,” the agency said.

A DOL spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.