Earlier this year the department issued it’s new overtime rule that increased the minimum salary that must be met before before an employee is exempt from overtime.
Advertisement
In the 30-page complaint filed September 20, 2016, the states allege that the Obama administration is trying to impose heavy costs and its own policy initiatives, in violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution. “Ignoring this federal law, the Department of Labor by executive fiat is forcing state, local and private employers to pay overtime to any employee who earns under a certain amount, regardless of whether that employee is actually performing “executive, administrative, or professional” duties”.
The DOL ruled earlier this year that more salaried workers will receive overtime pay, beginning in December of this year. On Tuesday, Paxton warned the rule “may lead to disastrous consequences for our economy”. Hundreds of state employees who now aren’t entitled to overtime pay would be entitled to it when they work more than 40 hours per week. As such, the suit says, the rules present a threat to state budgets. Neither Missouri nor IL were among the 21 states to file suit.
The lawsuit states that Kentucky has about 1,600 state workers that would be newly eligible for overtime pay as a result of the rule. “Like Obamacare before it, this latest overreach will force employers to hire less people and cut hours of their existing workers”, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement the Republican posted on his website.
By using an executive order to establish these dramatic rule changes, President Obama successfully avoided Congress, yet again, to enact drastic and controversial changes during his last few months in office.
“Despite the sound legal and policy footing on which the rule is constructed, the same interests that have stood in the way of middle-class Americans getting paid when they work extra are continuing their obstructionist tactics”, Perez said in the statement.
During the Obama administration, Oklahoma has joined similar lawsuits challenging regulations on health care, immigration, the environment and transgender bathrooms.
Advertisement
The Eastern Texas district where the lawsuit was filed is known as a “rocket docket” court where cases move along quickly. It also will ensure the threshold is updated every three years by indexing it to salary growth in the lowest income region of the country-an unprecedented step.
