Texas Border Business
Yesterday Judge Amos Mazzant, U.S. District Judge in the Eastern District of Texas, issued a nationwide injunction in the Department of Labor Overtime Rule case.
The McAllen Chamber had previously joined as a plaintiff in a coalition with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Business, as well as other organizations and chambers of commerce to challenge the rule and ask that it not be implemented.
The Chamber joined in the lawsuit because it believes the Overtime Rule exceeds the authority of the Department of Labor. It arbitrarily and drastically alters the DOL’s minimum salary requirements (increasing the minimum by 100%) and will impose new overtime payment on businesses of all sizes and employers that employ more than 4.2 million individuals who are currently considered exempt from overtime. Further, the Overtime Rule violates the Fair Labor Standard Act and exceeds the DOL’s regulatory authority by establishing an unprecedented “escalator” provision that will dramatically increase the minimum salary over time.
The preliminary injunction prohibits the Department of Labor from implementing and enforcing the regulation pending further order by the court. This is an incredible victory for the business community and for the state of Texas.
