Mayfield v. DOL concerns the FLSA and salary threshold requirement
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 25, 2024) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Robert Mayfield v. U.S. Department of Labor at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The case concerns the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its exemption from overtime pay requirements for “executive, administrative, or professional” employees (EAP exemption). The question is whether the Department of Labor’s authority on the EAP exemption allows it to impose a salary threshold test to determine if an employee qualifies for the exemption. NFIB filed the brief with the Manhattan Institute.
“When Congress passed the FLSA, it did not give the Department of Labor clear and direct authority to impose a salary threshold to qualify for the EAP exemption,” said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “Small businesses struggle when government agencies bypass Congress in creating new mandates that impact their day-to-day business operations like employee compensation. We ask the Court to consider small businesses and reverse the district court’s ruling.”
NFIB’s brief argues three main points: 1) the EAP exemption focuses on an employee’s duties, not salary, 2) the decision to import salary requirements in the EAP exemption should rest with Congress, and 3) the DOL’s invalid implementation of salary thresholds for the EAP exemption significantly harms the business community.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.
