Judge strikes down overtime rule

Declaring a “win for lumber dealers,” the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association applauded a court decision that struck down a rule that intended to expand overtime eligibility.

Currently, employees with salary levels under $455 per week qualify for overtime pay. Under the Obama-era rule set to take effect Dec. 1, employers would have been forced to pay overtime for salaried employees making up to $913 per week, or $47,476 annually.

The rule was put on hold last November by the same judge who struck down the rule on Aug. 31 -- Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

The NLBMDA described the move as a clear victory for lumber dealers.

"The decision is a victory for lumber dealers allowing them to provide increased flexibility and career opportunities for their employees," said Jonathan Paine, NLBMDA President and CEO. "NLBMDA looks forward to working with DOL on a new rulemaking that updates the salary threshold for overtime eligibility."

In issuing his ruling, Judge Mazzant ruled that the Department of Labor (DOL) put too much emphasis on salaries in determining overtime pay and did not adequately consider an employee's regular duties. "The department creates a final rule that makes overtime status depend predominately on a minimum salary level, thereby supplanting an analysis of an employee's job duties," noted Judge Mazzant in his written opinion. "Because the final rule would exclude so many employees who perform exempt duties, the department fails to carry out Congress's unambiguous intent."

The rule would have expanded overtime eligibility to an estimated 4 million workers.

A broad coalition of business groups, and 21 states, had challenged the rule on the grounds that DOL exceeded its authority by raising the salary threshold too much and providing automatic updates to the threshold without stakeholder input.