As Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton sued in June 2024 to stop the federal rule that raised the salary limit below which salaried workers must be paid overtime, and in November 2024 a federal judge in Texas struck it down nationwide, stripping overtime eligibility from an estimated 1 million workers. He had also sued over the 2016 overtime rule, which a federal court in Texas invalidated in 2017.
In June 2024 Paxton also joined a lawsuit against a Labor Department rule that protected H-2A agricultural guest workers from retaliation for organizing, and a federal judge blocked the rule in Texas and 16 other states.
Ken Paxton's Lawsuits Against Overtime Pay and Farmworker Protections
- Paxton's Lawsuit Got the 2024 Overtime Rule Struck Down, Stripping Eligibility From About 1 Million Workers. On June 4, 2024, Ken Paxton sued the Department of Labor over its 2024 rule, which would increase the salary thresholds determining employee eligibility for overtime pay exemption. His early injunction meant the rule applied from July 1, 2024 except as applied to the State of Texas in its capacity as an employer, and in November 2024 the court vacated the rule nationwide. The ruling put the overtime threshold back at $35,568 from $43,888 and stripped overtime eligibility from an estimated 1 million workers, HR Dive reported. The department had estimated that the standard salary level changes will result in 4.0 million affected workers once fully in place. In May 2026, with the appeals dismissed, the department removed from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) the regulatory text from the now-vacated 2024 rule.
- Paxton Sued to Stop the 2016 Overtime Rule, Which a Texas Court Blocked Before It Took Effect. In 2016, Ken Paxton sued over the Obama administration's overtime rule, which increased the standard salary level from the 2004 salary level of $455 to $913 per week. A federal court in Texas blocked the rule on November 22, 2016 and, on August 31, 2017, held that its salary level exceeded the department's authority. The Labor Department never enforced the 2016 rule because it was invalidated by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, so salaried workers earning between $455 and $913 a week never gained overtime eligibility under it.
- Paxton Joined the Suit That Blocked Retaliation Protections for H-2A Farmworkers in Texas. On June 11, 2024, Ken Paxton joined Kansas and other states in suing the Department of Labor over its 2024 rule for H-2A agricultural guest workers, which he said would let them "unionize and engage in collective bargaining." In August 2024, a federal judge in Georgia granted a preliminary injunction that stops the department from enforcing the rule in 17 states, including Texas. The rule was issued to address abuses related to working conditions and retaliation against agricultural workers, and under it H-2A employers cannot retaliate against an H-2A visa holder who engage in certain organizing and collective bargaining activities. The injunction removed that protection for H-2A workers employed in Texas.
What Ken Paxton's Lawsuits Mean for Texas Workers
- State employees. Because of Paxton's injunction, the 2024 overtime rule applied from July 1, 2024 except as applied to the State of Texas in its capacity as an employer, so Texas state employees were left out of the higher threshold even while it was in force elsewhere.
- Farmworkers. Texas is one of the 17 states where the court stopped the Labor Department from enforcing the H-2A rule's protections for guest farmworkers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ken Paxton on Labor and wages
What is Ken Paxton's record on labor and wages under Trump?
Ken Paxton's 2024 lawsuit got the federal overtime rule struck down nationwide, and the Trump Labor Department then let the appeals end and erased the rule in May 2026. He had earlier helped block the 2016 overtime rule before it took effect. He also joined the suit that blocked retaliation protections for H-2A farmworkers in Texas.
Did Ken Paxton sue to block the overtime pay rule?
Yes. Ken Paxton sued on June 4, 2024, and a November 18, 2024 release from Paxton's office announced that "the unlawful rule has been vacated and set aside." The rule's second step, which would have raised the threshold to $58,656 on January 1, 2025, never took effect.
What did Ken Paxton's H-2A lawsuit do to farmworkers?
Ken Paxton's H-2A lawsuit led to a preliminary injunction in which the judge found the rule violated the National Labor Relations Act, which exempts agricultural workers from its protections for concerted activity. As a result, the Labor Department could not enforce the rule's anti-retaliation protections for guest farmworkers in Texas.
Last updated: 2026-10-25