On November 22, a federal district court judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) had exceeded its authority in issuing revised white collar overtime exemptions, which were set to be effective as of December 1. The implementation and enforcement of the regulations, which more than doubled minimum salary requirements for overtime exemptions, has been temporarily delayed.

District Judge Amos Mazzant issued a nationwide injunction after considering a set of consolidated cases brought by 21 states and several businesses. In his decision, Judge Mazzant said that the challenge brought by the plaintiffs had a likelihood of success on the merits.

Background   This spring, the DOL released new Overtime Regulations, which were expected to impact 4.2 million workers beginning December 1, 2016. Under the new rules the salary threshold for exempting employees from overtime would double to $913 per week or $47,476 per year. In addition, salary minimums would automatically increase every three years beginning January 1, 2020.

The court’s ruling on Tuesday creates a significant amount of uncertainty as to next steps to be taken by business owners. We will continue to monitor further developments in this area. For more information, please contact your Miller Cooper representative.