Federalist Society Judge in Texas Blocks Biden Administration's Overtime Pay Rule

What the ruling means for salaried workers and how the captured courts will turn back the clock on Democratic safety nets for the working class

Federalist Society Judge in Texas blocks new overtime pay rule from going into effect

It should not be overlooked that the captured federal courts continue to block the Biden administration’s efforts to reconstruct a safety net around the lower and middle classes.

Rulings by Federalist Society judges that overturn or halt Democratic legislative and executive actions are in direct conflict with the current Corporate news narrative that Democrats have abandoned the working class. They also pierce gaping holes in the myth that the Republican Party has superior economic policy.

In reality, these ideologues in robes—all registered Republicans—are reactionary politicians tasked with reinterpreting legal principles to further entrench Republican Party power. In order to do that, these judges must rule in a way that suppresses economic prosperity and freedom for the working class.

This is why FedSoc judges have blocked and overturned the Biden administration’s efforts to cancel student loan debt, restore net neutrality, ban junk fees, and mandate cost transparency upfront, as well as refunds for flight cancellations, and more.

Friday’s decision by Trump-appointed District Court Judge Sean Jordan is just the latest by a FedSoc judge to undermine the current Democratic-led effort to work for the American people. And it deserves far more attention (and scrutiny) than it’s receiving.

The Consequences of the Stolen Courts

This tool occupying the Eastern District Court of Texas predictably decided that the Department of Labor’s final overtime pay rule went beyond the agency’s authority and granted summary judgment in favor of the state and a coalition of Big Business lobbying groups, including the National Retail Federation.

This finding of “overstepping authority” is a pattern with FedSoc judges to defang oversight power from federal agencies (a.k.a the administrative state). It’s the only card they have to play and it works because the Federalist Society has usurped the courts.

The fact that the Corporate news apparatus did not stress the importance of the courts in the 2024 election to the American electorate is a grave mistake. The courts should have been a keystone message to underscore how vital it is for the Democrats to keep the Senate, what role the chamber plays with judicial appointments, and why it matters to voters.

It wasn’t just the Supreme Court that was on the ballot this election cycle. The party that controls the Senate has the power to confirm federal judges. The Republican Party is why the courts are stacked with FedSoc judges and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is the broker who ensured this ideological imbalance.

Under the narrow Democratic majority in the Senate beginning January 2021 through January 3, 2025, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been working to undo McConnell’s damage to the judiciary. And it hasn’t been easy with turncoat Senators Joe Manchin (R-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) holding up confirmations and voting with the GOP.

This effort will soon end and the Republican Party will reverse whatever healing the judiciary was undergoing. This is largely due to the American electorate not being properly educated on the consequences of giving a Senate majority back to the GOP.

What does this mean?

I reported in July on TikTok that the Labor Department finalized a new rule that would expand overtime pay to millions of minimum-salaried workers. The Biden administration raised the salary threshold for eligibility from $43,888 (which was enacted in July) to $58,656, which was set to go into effect in early 2025. Under the Trump administration, the threshold was $35,568.

Because of Judge Jordan’s ruling, the Trump-era threshold will go back into effect. And the consequences will impact more than 4 million workers whose salaries are being stolen by the companies they work for.

Another way to put it is this FedSoc judge is allowing corporate-sponsored financial abuse by rubberstamping wage theft. He even wrote, “the rules should be based on workers' job duties rather than their salary,” adding, “The minimum salary level imposed by the 2024 Rule ‘effectively eliminates’ consideration of whether an employee performs ‘bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity’ duties in favor of what amounts to a salary-only test.”

First of all, this is cockamamie “meritocracy” bullshit given that the federal minimum wage has remained stagnant at a measly $7.25 since 2009 and has barely moved to keep up with the cost of living since the Reagan administration. Second, this same legal argument was used by the same court to block an Obama-era rule in 2017 that also sought to expand OT pay.

New dog, same old tricks.

He also wrote that the rule would financially burden employers who employ millions of workers who would be entitled to overtime pay under the Labor Department’s new rule. This ignores the fact that these employers are bragging about record profits as they continue to raise prices to offset business costs to the consumer in addition to restructuring organizations to facilitate mass layoffs. There is no bottom of the barrel when it comes to Corporate greed.

The worst part about this FedSoc judge’s ruling is that it applies nationwide, not just to Texas.

To justify the national application, Jordan cited the rogue 5th Circuit Court, which is now considered the most right-wing circuit court. He wrote in his 62-page decision,

“Unlike at the preliminary-injunction stage when the Court had broad discretion to fashion appropriate preliminary relief, the Fifth Circuit has made clear that district courts should generally ‘nullify and revoke’ illegal agency action…Considering the volume and variety of the trade organizations’ members who are entitled to relief, it would be impractical, if not impossible, to fashion party-tailored relief here.”

It’s unclear if the Biden administration will appeal this decision. But even if they did, the writing is on the wall with the incoming Trump regime.

The FedSoc captured courts do not have to be constrained anymore. The American people voted to give them license to rule in favor of Corporate and political (Republican Party) interests. So, the courts will carry out their agenda unless or until the people stop them.