Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce joins fight against federal overtime rules

The Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce has joined a lawsuit to block the U.S. Department of Labor's new federal overtime regulations.

The new rule will require that executive, administrative and professional employees making less than $47,476 a year receive overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a week. That more than doubles the current salary threshold for required overtime.

The updated rule will grant overtime pay to an additional 4.2 million employees in the U.S.

The president of the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce said that will more than double the current salary standard when it goes into effect December first.

Chamber President Tony Moline said the new rule will negatively impact all businesses, non-profits, and higher education institutions. That's why the Chamber decided to join the fight against the new regulations.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Business and over 40 local chambers of commerce throughout Texas are already part of the lawsuit that was filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday. That includes the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce.

Under the new rule, the Department of Labor will automatically update the salary threshold every three years, based on wage growth over time. That's what worries Moline the most.

“That's what we're fighting against. Businesses won't be able to keep up so they're going to have to either restructure the way they do business right now or, hopefully, if this lawsuit continues, we'll be able to get that taken out,” said Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce President Tony Moline.
The Department of Labor lists a couple of ways employers can comply with the new rule; either pay time and a half for overtime work, raise workers’ salaries above the $47,000 threshold or limit worker's hours to 40 a week.

The State of Texas and 20 other states are also part of a lawsuit challenging the new regulations.