Businesses on Wednesday were lauding a federal judge’s decision to block the start of a new labor rule, set to take effect Dec. 1, that would have made more than 4 million U.S. workers, including 132,000 in New Jersey, eligible for overtime pay heading into the holiday season.
In a blow to the Obama administration, the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday granted a nationwide preliminary injunction that stops the overtime-regulation changes. Judge Amos Mazzant III ruled that the Department of Labor’s plan to dramatically raise the overtime salary limit exceeds the agency’s authority.
Christopher Mayer, a Newark attorney specializing in employment law, said he hadn’t received many inquiries from employer-clients as to whether they should go forward with changes to comply with the new rule — despite the injunction — because of the coming holiday.
“It’s the day before Thanksgiving and I don’t think a lot of people are aware of this (ruling),” he said. “Picking up on it, I do think we’ll get a surge of questions. For now, I will say stay the course.”