The Saga Continues: The DOL Appeals the Court’s Ruling Halting The New Overtime Rules

In the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of the newly revised (and currently halted) overtime rules, on December 1, the Department of Labor appealed the lower court’s ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

As we previously reported, last week Judge Amos Mazzant issued a temporary injunction stopping the implementation of the revised overtime rules scheduled to go into effect on December 1.  The appeal by the Department of Labor challenges that ruling.

Judge Mazant’s temporary injunction remains in place for now until the Court of Appeals rules on the appeal.  The Court of Appeals’ ruling will likely not come until 2017.  Of course, no matter what the Court of Appeals decides, one of the parties may appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court further prolonging a final resolution of the issue.

However, President-elect Trump has signaled that he is not in favor of the new rule; therefore, the new administration may have little interest in continuing to pursue the matter after he takes office.

The bottom line is, for now, the temporary injunction halting the implementation of the new overtime regulations continues unless and until the higher court rules otherwise.

We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated.

© 2016 Vandenack Weaver LLC
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NEW OVERTIME RULES TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED

For employers preparing to comply with the new salary exemption regulations, designated to start on December 1, 2016, the new rules have been temporarily suspended. The new regulation would have increased the minimum salary required to qualify for the executive, professional, and administrative exemptions, increasing the minimum salary from $23,660 to $47,892 annually. These exemptions are often referred to as the “white collar” exemption and if an employer failed to meet the minimum salary requirement, the employer would have to pay the employee overtime for time worked past 40 hours in a week.

The temporary injunction means the rule is suspended and will not affect employers until further hearings are held. However, due to the current political climate, it is unclear whether further hearings will occur. Thus, employers do not have to comply with the new exemption rules, but should remain prepared to implement procedures to pay overtime to employees that would not meet the new white collar exemption rules.

For employers that have already implemented policies and procedures to comply with the pending white collar exemption regulations, or those that have communicated pending changes with employees, please contact Vandenack Weaver, LLC, to discuss your options.

© 2016 Vandenack Weaver LLC
For more information, Contact Us