Overtime Rule Appeal Dropped by Justice Department

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Justice Department will not defend a Labor Department rule from the Obama era that would have extended overtime benefits to more than four million workers, reported The Hill.

A federal judge struck down the rule in November 2016, after which the Justice Department filed an appeal. It is now dropping the appeal, indicating that the current administration agrees with the court decision.

The rule would have obligated employers to pay time-and-a-half wages to most salaried workers who earn less than $47,476 annually. When he blocked the rule, Judge Amos Mazzant stated that it improperly focused on workers' salaries rather than their job descriptions. The current overtime pay cutoff is $23,660.

"The Department of Labor under the previous administration overstepped its authority in making changes to the federal overtime rule. Today’s decision to invalidate the rule demonstrates the negative impacts these regulations would have had on businesses and their workers. We will continue to work with [the Department of Labor] on behalf of the restaurant industry to ensure workable changes to the overtime rule are enacted," stated the Restaurant Law Center after Judge Mazzant's ruling.

Among the challengers of the rule were the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Business, National Automobile Dealers Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Wholesaler Distributors, National Federation of Independent Business, National Retail Federation and more than 50 other national and Texas business groups.