Federal Court Strikes Down Biden’s Overtime Expansion: What This Means for Higher Education
November 18, 2024
A federal judge in Texas has struck down the Biden administration’s overtime expansion rule, which was set to increase the salary threshold for overtime eligibility to $58,656 as of Jan. 1, 2025.
The ruling, delivered by District Judge Sean D. Jordan—appointed by former President Donald Trump—resets the threshold to $35,568, rolling back the July 1 threshold increase to $43,888 and blocking the Jan. 1 threshold increase that would have impacted an estimated 59,000 employees at colleges and universities across the country.
This decision is expected to resonate across higher education, where institutions had been preparing for significant financial and operational shifts. Admissions officers, student affairs professionals, athletics staff, and other roles would have been newly eligible for overtime pay under the expanded threshold. While faculty and other teaching-focused employees remained exempt, the higher education community had voiced concerns that the increase was too steep and too rapid.
Steven Bloom, ACE’s assistant vice president for Government Relations, described the challenges to Inside Higher Ed when the draft rule was released in 2023.
