The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the Trump administration an additional 60 days to decide what to do about appealing an injunction placed on the Obama-era overtime rule that was set to take effect this past Dec. 1, making May 1 decision day.
The 60 days are in addition to an earlier 30-day extension, which expired yesterday (Feb. 22).
The overtime rule, issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) under President Barack Obama, would raise the salary threshold for exemption to overtime pay to $913 a week, or $47,476 a year, up from $455 and $23,660 currently.
According to the DOL, the extra time is necessary “[t]o allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues.” However, the department is still without a secretary after Andrew Puzder withdrew his name from consideration following a series of embarrassing revelations. Anthony Acosta, a former judge and member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), is the new nominee.
If the Trump DOL decides to drop its appeal, the AFL-CIO has petitioned the court to take over the legal battle, though the court has yet to answer the labor group’s petition to do so.
The issue is still facing trial in a Texas district court, whose judge could decide to make the temporary injunction he issued in November permanent.