American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and CEO Chris Spear reacted to a ruling by Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas blocking the Obama administration’s new overtime rule from taking effect.
“We are pleased that Judge Mazzant has enjoined the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule, which set an arbitrarily high salary threshold for employees covered by the ‘white collar’ exemption to the overtime requirements of federal law.
“By doubling the threshold from its current level of $23,660 to $47,476 as of December 1, the rule would have forced millions of salaried professionals to be treated like hourly employees. In the trucking industry, the rule change would have affected countless salaried dispatchers and other managers who need the flexibility to work as the need arises, in response to unpredictable operational demands. At the same time, it would have forced the carriers they work for to begin micromanaging their time.
“When Congress established the white-collar exemption, it was clear that it wanted the exemption to depend on the nature of an employee’s duties, not an arbitrary salary level, and today’s decision vindicates Congress’s instruction.”
