Employers in Houston may need their workers to work more than 40 hours per week for a number of reasons. According to the National Law Review, after a new overtime rule from the U.S. Department of Labor goes into effect, this will cost a business more when it comes to the employee’s wages. It would require most employers to pay overtime pay to employees who make up to $913 per week, and this law is now the focus of a lawsuit filed by Texas and 22 other states.
Dallas News states that the lawsuit includes the claim that it does not make sense to base the overtime rule so much on salary, and further, that the law’s other requirements become more complicated to interpret as a result. The current raise is slated for automatic increase by one of the new law’s provisions, and the suit notes that lawmakers should have the ability to evaluate the effects of the change before any further adjustments are made to the minimum placed on the salary base.
Critics of the law point out that negative effects from the law will trickle down to consumers as businesses make adjustments to their price structures to compensate for the extra wages they must pay. Others say that employees who regularly work more than 40 hours a week may find themselves limited to less pay when employers must compensate by eliminating overtime. Many business leaders in Texas do not believe the DOL has the authority to make the sweeping changes encompassed by the law.