Federal Court Blocks Implementation Of Overtime Pay Regulation After 21 States Sue
LAS VEGAS (CBS/AP) — A federal court is blocking implementation of a regulation that would make an estimated 4 million more higher-earning workers eligible for overtime pay.
The U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction Tuesday that prevents the Department of Labor from implementing the changes until the rule's legality can be further examined. The order comes after 21 states sued to block the rule before it took effect on Dec. 1.
The lead plaintiff was Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who's a frequent critic of what he calls Obama Administration overreach.
The regulation would shrink the so-called "white collar exemption" and more than double the salary threshold under which employers must pay overtime to their workers.
The National Council of Chain Restaurants applauded the court's decision.
"Today, Judge Mazzant agreed with what NCCR and our coalition allies have been saying all along: that the Labor Department's ill-conceived overtime regulation is a dramatic government overreach causing significant harm to small businesses and their employees around the country," Rob Green, the council's executive director, said in a statement. "The regulatory 'timeout' imposed by Judge Mazzant should allow Congress to vote to stop the regulation once and for all and would also let the incoming Trump administration create a more realistic and workable overtime solution based on sound economic considerations."
Laxalt said the rule would burden private and public sectors.
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