Department of Labor to appeal injunction of overtime rule

The Department of Labor has filed a notice to appeal an injunction from a Texas federal judge that halted the Dec. 1 implementation of new overtime rules.

The department filed a notice of appeal Thursday in hopes of moving ahead with the new rule, which have more than doubled the threshold for overtime eligibility from $23,660 to $47,476.

Related: Overtime rule update: a last-chance effort to vacate or delay the rule

Last month, 21 states and a coalition of business groups filed two separate lawsuits to overturn the regulation, alleging that the government had overstepped its authority. Mazzant wrote in his order that in setting the new salary threshold, “the department exceeds its delegated authority and ignores Congress’s intent.”

Related: Time to boost worker salaries? - Implement a Department of Labor compliance plan to find out.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, has vowed to roll back business regulations and has called the rule an overreach of power by the Obama administration. If the court of appeals does not lift the injunction before he is inaugurated, many believe that the legislation will die.