OKLAHOMA CITY– Attorney General Scott Pruitt announced Tuesday that Oklahoma has joined 20 other states in filing a complaint in federal court challenging the The United States Department of Labor’s new overtime rule.
The new rule will more than double the minimum salary overtime threshold for both public and private workers without Congressional authorization. All employees who earn less than $913 a week would be entitled to overtime, including state and local government employees.
It also contains a ratcheting mechanism to automatically increase the salary-level every three years without going through the standard rule-making process required by federal law.
The complaint states this rule would drive employment costs substantially and could force elimination of services or cause layoffs.
“Working families across the state could face increased hardships resulting from this new rule, such as hours being reduced, salaries being slashed, and overtime hours going unrecognized. This is yet another example of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to reach beyond its Constitutional authority, ultimately costing Oklahomans their jobs and the State millions of dollars,” Attorney General Pruitt said.
The complaint asks the court to prevent the the new rule from going in to effect, which is scheduled to be implemented December 1, 2016.