Update on appeal of 2016 overtime rule

On Nov. 22, 2016, days before the Dec. 1, 2016, effective date for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule, U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant, of the Eastern District of Texas entered an injunction order that stayed its enforcement. Among other changes, the new overtime rule would have increased the salary test under the Fair Labor Standards Act for exempt administrative, executive and professional employees from $455 per week to $913 per week. The DOL immediately appealed the injunction order to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The DOL filed its initial brief and the plaintiffs, 21 states and business groups, filed their brief in response. To complete the briefing, the DOL (as the appellant) is given the opportunity to reply to arguments made by the plaintiffs in their brief.

With the change in administration and the DOL obtaining a new Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, the DOL requested additional time to file its reply brief; the reason it gave was that its incoming leadership personnel needed adequate time to consider the issue.

The DOL has now filed its reply brief and the Fifth Circuit has put the appeal on its oral argument calendar, which is tentatively scheduled for the week of Oct. 2, 2017. In the meantime, the DOL has requested public comment on the overtime rule and those comments are due by Sept. 25, 2017. 

If you have questions about the appeal of the 2016 overtime rule, contact one of Chuhak & Tecson’s Employment attorneys.

This Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. communication is intended only to provide information regarding developments in the law and information of general interest. It is not intended to constitute advice regarding legal problems and should not be relied upon as such.

Client alert authored by: Jeralyn H. Baran, Principal

This alert originally appeared in the August 2017 Employment Focus newsletter.