Nevada, Texas, other states, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and a long, long list of business-related organizations defeated the Federal Department of Labor – at least for now – in federal court.
A judge granted an injunction against the DOL for controversial new rules that were to take effect on December 1. The new rules mandated that any employee making less than $47,892 per year must be paid overtime. The previous minimum salary level to automatically trigger overtime rules was $23,660.
Federal law says, “any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity … shall be exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements.”
Twenty one states, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations argued that the new rule was a blatant disregard for the law.
U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Amos L. Mazzant, agreed.
The judge wrote, “[The] Department exceeds its delegated authority and ignores Congress’s intent by raising the minimum salary level such that it supplants the duties test.”
In other words, some employees were exempted by Congress and the DOL failed to follow the law with its new rule.
“The Final Rule is unlawful,” the judge wrote.
The Lubbock Chamber and others argued that the DOL’s new overtime rule, “harms the public by increasing state budgets, causing layoffs, and disrupting governmental functions.”
The judge agreed, writing, “The Court finds the public interest is best served by an injunction.”
The judge stopped the new rule not only in the 21 states that sued, but all 50 states.
The DOL can still appeal and an injunction does not automatically mean the DOL will lose the lawsuit. But the injunction does suggest that the Lubbock Chamber and others “are likely” to prevail according to court records.
After the judge’s ruling, the Lubbock Chamber wrote on Twitter, “We’re proud to have fought his overreaching regulation for our members.”
