Working in conjunction with other concerned industry groups and a coalition of 21 state attorneys general, the National Federation of Independent Business has secured a major victory for small business in our lawsuit against DOL’s Overtime Rule. The Rule was set to go into effect on December 1, and would have forced many businesses to either reclassify their employees from exempt to non-exempt, or to significantly raise the salary floor for their exempt employees. But on Tuesday, November 22, with only eight days to go before the rule would have become effective, Judge Mazzant issued a decision granting an injunction to block the rule nationwide.
DOL is now prohibited from enforcing the Rule during the pendency of our lawsuit. This means that small business owners can continue with business as usual. While this doesn’t definitively resolve the case, it is certainly a good sign that at the end of the day we will get a decision invalidating the Rule altogether. Moreover, President-elect Trump has signaled that he would seek to rescind the Overtime Rule through a new rulemaking process if necessary—all of which bodes well for the small business community.
