Justice Department Files Notice Of Appeal After Texas Judge Temporarily Blocks Overtime Rule
The Hill reports that the Obama Administration “is appealing a Texas judge’s decision to temporarily block a contentious overtime rule from taking effect.” The Justice Department, on behalf of the Department of Labor, “filed a notice of appeal Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.” US District Judge Amos Mazzant had “issued a temporary injunction last month to stop the rule from taking effect Dec. 1.” The rule “would have forced employers to pay overtime to most salaried workers earning less than $47,476 annually. The salary cutoff for overtime pay now stands at $23,660.” NPR reports that Judge Mazzant’s preliminary injunction sided with plaintiffs “who said the new overtime rules would have…made it mandatory for businesses to pay millions in additional salaries.”
What This Means For Small Businesses
Small businesses will continue to face uncertainty over the future of the overtime rule given the Obama administration’s appeal. The Austin (TX) Business Journal reports many companies “had spent months preparing for the new regulations, which were set to go into effect Dec. 1” before the court issued “a preliminary injunction stopping the rules from going into effect.” However, had the new rule taken effect, small businesses and employees would have been negatively impacted as many small employers would not have been ready by the Dec. 1 deadline. In addition, Forbes observes that the rule would have placed additional burdens on businesses who do not “require employees to precisely track and report their time.” These businesses “could have been on the hook for huge compliance liabilities in the event they were not paying people fairly for their time.”
Additional Reading
The Wall Street Journal also reports.
Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.
