A U.S. District Court in Texas Nov. 22 issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocks the Department of Labor's (DOL) overtime rule from going into effect on Dec. 1. Under a key provision of the rule, full-time salaried individuals paid an annual salary less than $47,476 would have been eligible for overtime as “non-exempt” employees. The Justice Department Dec. 1 filed a notice that it intends to appeal the injunction.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Aug. 10 announced that it plans to increase postdoctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA) stipends to levels at or above the $47,476 threshold. The NIH Nov. 7 reiterated that it “plans to raise its NRSA stipends for consistency with [the] spirit of the DOL’s support for increased pay, as reflected in its recent revisions to the overtime regulations.” NIH Deputy Director Mike Lauer, MD, Nov. 23 reaffirmed the guidance.
Although prompted by the DOL rulemaking, NIH’s authority to increase stipends for NRSA postdocs is not dependent on the rulemaking taking effect. The AAMC continues to support NIH’s recommended stipend levels for post-docs.