Employers should take note of a recent lawsuit filed to block the implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new final rule to increase minimum salary levels required to satisfy exempt status for many employees. This action is similar to an effort launched against the DOL in 2016, which resulted in a nationwide injunction preventing a proposed increase to minimum salary levels.

The lawsuit, Plano Chamber of Commerce v. U.S. Department of Labor, was filed in the Eastern District of Texas on May 23, 2024. It seeks an injunction against the DOL rule and raises similar arguments to those that were successfully asserted in the 2016 lawsuit.

The current final rule was announced in April 2024 and is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2024, as we covered in a previous alert. It remains to be seen how the court will rule in this present legal challenge. For now, employers should continue to prepare to implement any changes that may be necessary to comply with the rule in case it goes into effect as scheduled. However, employers may wish to monitor developments for a few more weeks before the July 1, 2024, effective date prior to implementing such changes in case an injunction is issued.