A federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction on Nov. 22 against a controversial Obama administration regulation that would extend overtime pay to 4.2 million U.S. workers — one of the administration's most significant moves to address stagnant wages.
The regulation was scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1. It would raise the salary limit below which workers automatically qualified for overtime pay to $47,476 from $23,660. The judge, Amos L. Mazzant III of the Eastern District of Texas, ruled that the Obama administration had exceeded its authority by raising the overtime salary limit so significantly, the New York Times reported. The ruling was hailed by business groups who argued the new rules would be costly and result in fewer hours for workers.
The Labor Department said it “strongly disagreed” with the decision and was “considering all of our legal options,” raising the possibility of an appeal in the waning days of the Obama administration. Ross Eisenbrey of the Economic Policy Institute, whose writings on the subject helped shape the administration’s regulation, called the ruling “a disappointment to millions of workers who are forced to work long hours with no extra compensation.”
The National Pest Management Association responded with an e-alert that noted: The preliminary injunction is promising for NPMA members. We have advocated against this rule since July 2015 requesting numerous rational fixes to the final rule including; delaying implementation of the rule, indexing the rule, accounting for regional economic discrepancies and elimination of the triennial automatic indexing. The delay will enable NPMA and our partners in the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity (PPWO) the ability to work with the incoming Trump Administration and 115th Congress on make the necessary fixes to overtime laws. There is still a lot of advocacy to be accomplished on overtime regulations and we will need your continued engagement on this very important issue to our industry. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the NPMA public policy team.