Federal judge’s ruling invalidates Obama-era overtime rule
CARSON CITY — A federal judge has issued a ruling that invalidates an overtime rule from the Obama administration that would have impacted employees earning less than $47,476.
The judgment from the U.S. District Court’s Eastern Texas District was issued Thursday, and came in response to a challenge filed in 2016 by a 21-state group. Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt led the group, which argued the rule was inconsistent with federal law.
The U.S. Department of Labor issued the rule in May 2016. It denied an overtime exemption to any employee earning less than $47,476 per year, regardless of the worker’s duties.
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets a federal minimum wage and requires overtime pay for employees working over 40 hours per week. The same law requires an overtime exemption for “any bona fide executive, administrative, or professional” employees. It’s up to the Department of Labor to define the job duties of employees.
The rule was set to take effect on Dec. 1, 2016, and temporarily halted. The court decision on Thursday permanently invalidates the rule.
Laxalt on Thursday praised the decision, saying the proposed rule “would have imposed millions of dollars of unfunded liabilities on the states and resulted in a loss of private sector jobs as well as onerous financial and regulatory burdens on small businesses in Nevada and around the country.”
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.
