ATLANTA, GA, November 15, 2024 — AAHOA (Asian American Hotel Owners Association), the world’s largest hotel owners association, applauds the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas invalidating the entirety of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2024 Overtime Rule.
This ruling restores the minimum salary threshold to $35,568 and the threshold for highly compensated employees to $107,432, striking down both the July 1, 2024, increase and the planned January 1, 2025, increase. In his opinion, Judge Jordan emphasized that the 2024 Rule “effectively eliminates” the evaluation of an employee’s duties in favor of a “salary-only test” and that automatic updates to the threshold every three years violate federal rulemaking requirements.
AAHOA strongly opposed the rule. The association estimated that the 2024 Overtime Rule would cost each member up to $18,000 over just six months, collectively burdening its 20,000 members with a staggering $360 million in additional expenses.
“This decision is a major victory for small business owners in the hospitality industry,” said AAHOA Chairman Miraj S. Patel. “The proposed changes would have placed an undue financial burden on our members, threatening the sustainability of their businesses and their ability to create jobs, which is why we filed formal opposition and advocated about the negative impacts this increase would have on our businesses during the Fall National Advocacy Conference earlier this year.”
AAHOA President & CEO Laura Lee Blake added, “We welcome this ruling as a step toward fairness for America’s small business owners. Automatic updates and a salary-only approach disregard the unique operational challenges faced by hoteliers and other small business owners. AAHOA will remain vigilant, ensuring our members’ voices are heard and their interests protected in future policy discussions.”
