On Nov. 22, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) burdensome and costly overtime final rule. The rule would have changed the federal exemptions to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act for administrative, executive and professional employees, the so—called "white collar" worker classifications that have long been exempt from time-and-one-half pay for working more than 40 hours per week. The new rule will not go into effect without further action from the court.

ABC and a coalition of business groups filed suit against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division’s costly and burdensome final overtime rule on Sept. 20. The legal challenge was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

ABC reiterated its opposition to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) one-size-fits-all overtime proposal ahead of the Oct. 8 U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee  Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations hearing on how the proposed regulation would impact small business owners and their employees. The proposed rule, which was issued July 6, makes changes to existing regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that define which employees are exempt from overtime pay.

ABC and more than 900 members submitted comments in opposition to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division’s July 6 Proposed Regulations for Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees. If enacted, the proposal, commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” would more than double the minimum salary for the white collar overtime exemption and would automatically update the salary levels on an annual basis.

ABC is encouraging all members to take action and submit comments to the Department of Labor (DOL) on how its Wage and Hour Division’s Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees proposed rulemaking, commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” will harm the construction industry and small businesses.

ABC filed a letter July 23 with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) requesting an extension of the comment period on the department’s Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees proposed rulemaking. Commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” the notice of proposed rulemaking was issued June 30. 

At the direction of President Obama, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule on June 30, that would change federal overtime exemptions for administrative, executive, professional, and computer professional employees—the so-called "white collar" worker classifications that have long been exempt from being paid time-and-one-half for working hours over 40 per week.