As you may recall, the Department of Labor put forth overtime regulations that would have taken effect last December, enabling 4.2 million employees to be eligible for time and a half wages for every hour worked over the standard 40 hours per week. However, a number of business groups filed a lawsuit challenging the DOL’s rule in court, and 21 state attorneys general worked together to file a separate action, challenging the rule. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas combined both cases and U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant ruled recently that the salary threshold that establishes which employees are eligible or exempt from overtime was unreasonably high. Previously, Judge Mazzant imposed a preliminary injunction on the rule, blocking the rule from implementation on December 1, 2016. However, in his most recent ruling, Judge Mazzant formally overturned the DOL overtime regulation.
The DOL last week sought to appeal the decision. The agency filed its notice to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and once docketed, on November 3rd, the agency, through the Department of Justice, filed a motion to hold the appeal in abeyance, while the DOL undertakes further rulemaking to determine the salary level for exempt employees. The purpose of the motion to hold the appeal in abeyance, is to hold off on any ruling in the case while the DOL works on its own proposed overtime regulations.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact our office. At Innovative, we are committed to ensuring that our clients are kept abreast of regulatory changes that affect their employees and operations.
