Via NewsOK
WASHINGTON — Oklahoma joined 20 other states Tuesday in a legal challenge to a federal rule making millions more white- collar workers eligible for overtime pay.
The states claim the rule, set to go into effect Dec. 1, will raise their payroll costs to the point that state services will have to be reduced.
“This is yet another example of the administration’s ongoing efforts to reach beyond its constitutional authority, ultimately costing Oklahomans their jobs and the state millions of dollars,” Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said.
The lawsuit was filed in Texas.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business groups filed a separate lawsuit Tuesday in the same federal court, focusing on potential effects that the rule will have on private sector employers.
Salaried workers
Employers generally don’t have to pay overtime to salaried white-collar workers making more than $23,660 a year.
But that threshold will nearly double under the new rule, and workers making up to $47,476 a year will be eligible for overtime after 40 hours of work in a week.
The U.S. Department of Labor says the rule “will automatically extend overtime pay eligibility to 4.2 million workers.
“The rule will entitle most salaried white-collar workers earning less than $913 a week ($47,476 a year) to overtime pay.
“This long-awaited update will provide a meaningful boost to workers, and it will go a long way toward realizing President (Barack) Obama’s commitment to ensuring every worker is compensated fairly for their hard work.”
The rule also allows for increases in the threshold every three years based on wage growth.
Some exemptions
According to the department, there are several exemptions for state and local governments, including the comp time arrangement some have with public employees.
Elected officials and many of their staff members also won’t qualify for overtime under the rule.
In their suit, the states portray the rule as a plot to drain their treasuries and force them to bend to the federal government’s will.
“By committing an ever-increasing amount of State funds to paying State employee salaries or overtime, the Federal Executive can unilaterally deplete State resources, forcing the States to adopt or acquiesce to federal policies, instead of implementing State policies and priorities,” the lawsuit says.
Pruitt said, “The president does not have the authority to dictate to Oklahoma or any other state how they should budget state employee salaries.”
All but one of the 21 states — Louisiana — is led by a Republican governor.
During the Obama administration, Oklahoma has joined similar lawsuits challenging regulations on health care, immigration, the environment and transgender bathrooms.