On Tuesday, a federal judge, Judge Amos L. Mazzant III, appointed by President Barack Obama — entered a nationwide injunction Tuesday to stop the implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act overtime rules that would have taken effect on December 1, 2016. The rule would have forced many businesses to change how they pay employees and would have increased the pay for over 4 million American workers.
President Obama directed the Secretary of Labor to “modernize and streamline” the existing overtime regulations for executive, administrative, and professional employees” in March 2014.
Almost three years later, President Obama’s HR-compliance could be completely undone.
“The Final [Overtime] Rule…is unlawful.” See Judge Amos L. Mazzant’s opinion (here).
In September, 21 states sued the DOL to block implementation of the overtime rule. Business groups brought a similar action against the DOL. The two cases were consolidated.
This injunction isn’t just for employers in Texas; it’s nationwide.
The Final Rule is applicable to all states. The scope of the alleged irreparable injury extends nationwide. A nationwide injunction protects both employees and employers from being subject to different EAP exemptions based on location.