AUSTIN – On Nov. 22 a federal judge granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Labor’s “unlawful” new Overtime Rule.
The new overtime rule more than doubled the salary threshold for a worker to be entitled to overtime, which would force many state and local governments, as well as private businesses, to substantially increase their employment costs, according to a press release.
Attorney General Ken Paxton is co-leading a twenty-one-state coalition, along with Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt.
“The Obama administration proved true to form when it ordered the Department of Labor to revise its interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Paxton.
“Namely, the administration assumes that through force of will alone, it could order a new economic reality into existence. The finalized overtime rule hurts the American worker. It limits workplace flexibility without a corresponding increase in pay and forces employers to cut their workers hours. All in all, it exchanges the advantages of negotiated benefits, personal to each worker, with a one-size-fits-all standard that only looks good in press statements.
“Not on my watch.”
In granting the injunction, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant stated: “the Final Rule . . . is contrary to the statutory text and Congress’s intent” and “Congress, and not the Department, should make that change.”
Because of the court’s injunction, the new rule will not take effect on Dec. 1, 2016 anywhere in the nation.
In the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas, Sherman Division. Case No. 4:16-cv-00731-ALM
This article is reprinted from the SE Texas Record.