On November 22, a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction against the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule, which was scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2016. As a result of this court order, implementation of the rule is effectively halted. However, the injunction is a temporary measure that suspends the regulation until litigation comes to a close. DOL has said that it is currently “considering all of [its] legal options.” At this time, it is unclear if or when the rule will take effect.
The most significant change under rule is a doubling of the standard salary threshold for exempt employees – from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $913 per week ($47,476 per year). Many AGC contractors had already taken steps to implement this rule, such as by reducing employee hours or notifying employees of salary increases. Given the uncertain path ahead, those contractors may want to re-evaluate the overall impact of the changes made and either roll-back or keep those implementation efforts in place, considering both the impact on the company’s bottom line as well as employee morale.
It is not clear how President Trump will proceed as this is a rule that pits Trump, the populist, against Trump, the businessman. On the campaign trail, he did not clearly oppose or support the rule. Nevertheless, AGC has and will continue to support legislation and regulatory changes to lower the overtime threshold and gradually phase in the requirement over several years.
For more AGC information on this rule, click here.