Last week, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said that the labor federation will sue the Department of Labor (DOL) if it attempts to “water down” the overtime exemption regulations put in place by the Obama administration. Additionally, the AFL-CIO said it will defend the regulations in court. As ANCOR members are well aware, the overtime exemption rule that was slated to go into effect in December is on hold indefinitely due to court action (See WICs article, “Judge Declines to Stay Injunction in Overtime Rule Case,” January 15, 2017). The Trump administration and Congress have indicated that they intend to roll back the rule, or significantly alter it. DOL Secretary nominee Alexander Acosta, in his nomination hearing, said that he believes the current threshold of $47,476/yr is too high, and should be lowered to around $33,000 (Acosta has been approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and is slated for a full Senate vote this week).
