On December 1, 2016, The Department of Labor filed a motion for an expedited briefing of its appeal of a federal judge’s decision to place an injunction on the federal overtime rule, halting its enforcement. In addition to the Department of Labor, the appeal was brought Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, Wage and Hour Administrator David Weil, and Assistant Administrator Mary Zeigler.
This motion for expedited briefing does not change what employers should be doing at this point. The injunction was put into place on November 22, 2016, which means that the enforcement of the new rules was put on hold. This injunction remains in place unless the court grants a motion for an expedited hearing or a motion for a stay of the injunction. If granted, a motion for stay would make the new rule take effect – at least for a short period of time.
Although there is currently an appeal, the appellate process is time-consuming. Short of an expedited hearing, the process could take several months before it is heard by the court. There are certainly questions surrounding the future of the rule and its support with President-elect Trump taking office January 20, 2017. Absent an expedited hearing, the court will not have heard the matter by the time the President-elect is sworn into office.
How this effects individual employers can vary, so we encourage you to call our office to discuss this matter further if you have any questions. We will monitor these changes and keep you apprised of any new developments.