The Department of Labor (DOL) Overtime Exemption rule has been injuncted by a court since November 2016. On November 22, a federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction against the rule, effectively blocking it from going into effect on December 1 as written in the rule.
The Department of Labor (DOL) Overtime Exemption rule has been injuncted by a court since November 2016. On November 22, a federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction against the rule, effectively blocking it from going into effect on December 1 as written in the rule. As the litigation has worked its way through the court, the injunction has held, with the court not ruling the rule should go back into effect.
The administration has until June 30, 2017 to file a brief with the appeals court where the original litigation is still pending. The administration has signaled that it does not support the significantly increased threshold that the rule set, and has not actively pursued defending the rule. Newly-appointed DOL Secretary Alexander Acosta indicated in his confirmation hearings that he felt a more modest update to the threshold would be appropriate rather than the nearly doubling that the rule sought.
In a separate matter, a class action lawsuit is challenging the contention that the rule does not need to be followed. This new case, brought on behalf of employees of a casual dining restaurant chain, claims that the rule has never been found by a court to be unlawful, and so is in effect and companies should be paying people overtime. This appears to be the first lawsuit of its type to make this claim, a claim that goes against the widely-understood impact of the injunction. A former DOL Wage and Hour official, Paul DeCamp, said, "The argument that the plaintiffs seem to be making is a reach."
For more information, download our ebook, Final Overtime Rules: How to Comply.
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The Department of Labor (DOL) Overtime Exemption rule has been injuncted by a court since November 2016. On November 22, a federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction against the rule, effectively blocking it from going into effect on December 1 as written in the rule. As the litigation has worked its way through the court, the injunction has held, with the court not ruling the rule should go back into effect.
The administration has until June 30, 2017 to file a brief with the appeals court where the original litigation is still pending. The administration has signaled that it does not support the significantly increased threshold that the rule set, and has not actively pursued defending the rule. Newly-appointed DOL Secretary Alexander Acosta indicated in his confirmation hearings that he felt a more modest update to the threshold would be appropriate rather than the nearly doubling that the rule sought.
In a separate matter, a class action lawsuit is challenging the contention that the rule does not need to be followed. This new case, brought on behalf of employees of a casual dining restaurant chain, claims that the rule has never been found by a court to be unlawful, and so is in effect and companies should be paying people overtime. This appears to be the first lawsuit of its type to make this claim, a claim that goes against the widely-understood impact of the injunction. A former DOL Wage and Hour official, Paul DeCamp, said, "The argument that the plaintiffs seem to be making is a reach."
For more information, download our ebook, Final Overtime Rules: How to Comply.