Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

A bill seeking to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices passed out of the House Oversight Committee on a 23-17 vote. The Dismantle DEI Act, led by Congressman Michael Cloud (R-TX), outlines an effort to end all DEI-related activities within federal agencies, prevent DEI mandates in federal contracting and grants, and ensure that federal accreditation bodies prioritize merit and qualifications.

As we previously reported, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule in April 2024 (the “2024 Rule”), raising the salary threshold for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees and the total annual compensation level for the highly compensated employee exemption. The 2024 Rule also provides for periodic, automatic increases going forward. The 2024 Rule went into effect in July 2024.

On November 15, 2024, however, a Texas federal court struck down the 2024 Rule on a nationwide basis.