Texas And Nevada Take Lead Against DOL Overtime Rules

Twenty-one states have joined forces in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime rules. The attorneys general of Texas and Nevada filed the suit September 20 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, calling the overtime regulations “illegal.” The lawsuit challenges the legal basis of the rules’ automatic update to the salary threshold every three years; “automatic” allows changes without going through the Congressional rule-making process, and without consideration of current economic conditions.

The complaint also contends that the new rules—slated to go into effect December 1—will substantially increase labor costs for states, local governments and private businesses, and will likely result in layoffs and job elimination.

The new rules would raise the threshold of eligibility for overtime from $455 per week to $913 per week, or $47,476 annually. Under the shift, an estimated 4.2 million more workers across the U.S. would be eligible for overtime pay.

The complaint also argues that the Department of Labor regulations rely too heavily on salary level, not the type of work performed, to designate exempt status.

Joining Texas and Nevada in the lawsuit are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin. The NRA is looking into the possibility of joining in the lawsuit in some way.