03/23/2017

Trump’s Labor Nominee Grilled on Overtime Rule

Acosta questions the validity of the rule

President Trump’s nominee to head the Labor Department, Alexander Acosta, suggested in a Senate confirmation hearing yesterday that he would not support the overtime rule put out last year under the Obama administration.

Acosta told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that, if confirmed, he would follow Trump’s instructions that Cabinet members review all existing regulations for possible elimination or modification. Last year, the Obama administration put forward a final rule that would double (to $47,476) the salary threshold at which workers become eligible for overtime pay. The overtime rule was initially supposed to take effect on Dec. 1, 2016, but a federal judge in Texas granted an injunction at the request of 21 states, ASAE, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other like-minded organizations that challenged the DOL’s authority to double the salary limit that determines which workers should be eligible for overtime pay.

ASAE had emphasized repeatedly that it is not against increasing the overtime salary threshold, but that creating a “one-size-fits-all” salary threshold for overtime eligibility across the country – inconsiderate of cost of living differences – would not be workable for many employers and in fact, would have harmed many affected employees as well.

During yesterday’s hearing, Acosta seemed to suggest that an update to the overtime rule might be warranted, but said he had “serious questions” about the previous administration’s efforts to double the salary threshold. That “goes far beyond a cost of living adjustment,” Acosta said. He went on to say that an inflation-adjusted threshold would be about $33,000.

The Obama administration appealed the court injunction blocking the overtime rule last year but the appeal has been on hold during the transfer of administrations.

This article was provided for reprint to OSAE by The Power of A.