As discussed in Babst Calland’s Employment Bulletin on May 20, 2016, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published a Final Rule titled Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees (the “Final Rule”). Among other things, the Final Rule more than doubled the salary threshold required for employees to qualify for the executive, professional, or administrative exemptions allowed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and contained automatic updates to the salary thresholds. The Final Rule was set to go into effect on December 1, 2016.
On November 22, 2016, however, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted an emergency injunction to enjoin the application of the Final Rule. The injunction was filed against the DOL by twenty-two states and requested that the DOL be enjoined from enforcing the Final Rule. In granting the injunction request, the district court reasoned that the DOL was without statutory authority to issue and implement the Final Rule. Accordingly, the court enjoined application of the Final Rule, on a nationwide basis. Specifically, the court ruled that the DOL is enjoined from implementing and enforcing the Final Rule. Accordingly, until further notice, employers do not have to change overtime practices to comply with the DOL’s Final Rule.
Babst Calland’s Employment and Labor Group will continue to keep employers apprised of further developments related to this and other employment and labor topics.If you have any questions or need assistance in addressing the above-mentioned area of concern, please contact John A. McCreary, Jr. at (412) 394-6695 or jmccreary@babstcalland.com, Stephen A. Antonelli at (412) 394-5668 or santonelli@babstcalland.com, or Christopher M. Helms at (412) 394-6477 or chelms@babstcalland.com.