Georgia Joins Suit Against Obama Administration Regarding Overtime Pay
Attorney General Sam Olens annnounced today that Georgia has joined with 20 other states in opposing a new federal Labor Department rule that doubles the salary an employee must earn in order to be exempt from paying overtime wages. Under the new rule, anyone who makes $913 per week or less is entitled to overtime pay. The rule was enacted by the Labor Department in May without any sort of congressional oversight or approval.
Olens pointed out that the new rule affects many state employees, and could result in layoffs or reductions in state services in some cases. “The United States Department of Labor’s new overtime rule is yet another example of the President’s unconstitutional overreach,” said Olens. “Our nation’s laws, the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches must be followed.”
States that joined the lawsuit include Georgia, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. You can view the complaint as filed here.
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Jon Richards
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So the leaders of some of the poorest states (and virtually all of the deep south) in the union are attempting to roll back policy which would help some of the lower earners.
Shocking.
It may help some of the lower earners if the market had no reaction to the new rule. However, as we’ve seen time and time again, the market will react and it will hurt those on the lower end of the scale. That doesn’t make it the market’s fault, mind you. The US government should never intervene in this way.
If a business model requires the lower level salary employees earn less then $30,000 and working over 40 hours a week to remain profitable, that is the markets fault.
Your statement above refers to a perfectly legit way to run a business, especially a small business. It allows an owner to control their labor costs. If an employee feels overworked, then the employee needs to talk about that with their boss. Human beings can help themselves.
Now, we are talking about $30,000, but we are also talking about someone making $47,476. That changes things a lot. That may mean franchisees with a lot of smaller stores have their payroll go through the roof because their salaried managers are all affected. Mind you, they aren’t slaveholders, they are dealing with people that agreed to do a job for a certain amount. So the bosses that can’t afford to give everyone raises to avoid new overtime rules without cuts elsewhere have several choices and none of them work out for the employees very well.
Just because it is legit don’t make it good business. It’s not small business who are doing the majority of the complaining here, it’s Dow Jones companies and state governments. Wal-Mart has over 10,000 middle managers.
Humans can help themselves. I can swim really well to save myself if I’m 50 yards from shore, but I’m screwed if I’m more then a mile out. Most of America is a mile out to shore. They can talk to their boss all they want but when you live in a tight employment market and your family of four counts on that little paycheck, you’re not going to take the risk of making your employer mad in a state that lets them fire you out right for no reason.
You know not all jobs are created to support families of four, right? You know many government programs are available to help a family of four with 30k annual income, right? Of course you aren’t going to hear much from small businesses. They, individually, aren’t loud enough. Publicly traded companies should complain because a lot of people will lose a lot of money over this, not all of them can afford it either. The pain at places like Walmart is multiplied by 10,000. Don’t forget a lot of retirement money is tied to the performance of those companies you don’t care about.
Blake… You know I work with families that survive on $30,00 salaries a year and teach them how to budgets, use their government assistance to plan meals, cook and balance their check books right?, You know I shop local and at small business when possible, pay more for American made goods, right?. And if you have read any of my comments over the last 4 years, I manage mine and my mom’s retire funds (state pensions, Roth’s Traditional IRA, stocks and funds ect…). I do care about markets and companies in general (except Wal-Mart, it’s an evil small business and farm killer) while still thinking they over pay CEO’s and tire to influence markets by over paying dividends to stock holder then putting more profit back into assets and employees . I look for where and what my spreading will benefit most when given a choice of what stocks or funds to own. Including how businesses (small and mega corporations) treat and pay their employees.
Again, because something is legal doesn’t make it the best practice. Business can give a little, employees can bend here or there. It’s not a all one way only effort.
I know…I almost spit up when I read that. Hypocrite much?
You act like the market is some rational, omnipotent force. The market is generally rigged on the side of business.
When I was younger, I worked for Lowe’s and saw some of the crap they pulled regarding overtime. I think they have been sued a few times for it. Some hours might get cut but if you were exempt before I don’t see any significant financial hit. I think this stops some of the exploitative practices of some companies.
Could you please give us some specific examples of where this has happened and to whom? I hear this thrown around all the time some you must have several to chose from
Ha, you said ‘in the union’.
“Obama’s Rules” *eyeroll*
These rules have been around a lot longer than Obama. This adjustment is long overdue; a political can kicked down the road way too long.
So one of two things will happen if you are under the new threshold.
1. You salary will adjust to the new minimum, or
2. You will go on an hourly rate. There is nothing that says managers have to be on a salary.
Are there companies that will be impacted? Yes, sucks to be them; adjust or die. Will it put more money in the economy because salaried and hourly people will get a decades long delayed decent COLA out of this? Oh you betcha! It will “trickle down!”
This is Dept of Labor, not Mister Hussein Obamarama, personally. Good grief, more wasted time and effort at fighting helping people.
It seems the more something helps people in general, the more the status quo fights it. We, as voters, need to be doing something about that.
First, the free market only has one goal…profit, not social responsibility. Second, if an company is so dependent on forcing people to work overtime in the first place, perhaps they should hire more people. Having to pay overtime seems to me would spur job growth. Third dont most of you just get tired of…because…OBAMA! I sure get tired of reading it when it is so totally baseless.