Case Western Reserve officials are reviewing the implications of a federal judge’s decision Tuesday to temporarily block implementation of new overtime rules due to take effect Dec. 1. The university will announce how it will respond to the ruling early next week, and the Office of Human Resources still will hold the open session planned for noon Tuesday, Nov. 29, in Ford Auditorium.
University leaders have been working for several months to identify and notify staff affected by changes to regulations involving the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Announced in May, the adjustments were scheduled to affect several hundred staff on campus—and more than 4 million across the nation. Among other factors, the new standards raised the threshold under which employees are eligible for overtime from $23,660 to $47,476; this increase marked the first update since 2004.
In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Amos L. Mazzant indicated that the U.S. Department of Labor had exceeded its authority in the nature of some of its rules. In addition, he ruled that his preliminary injunction would apply nationally because the changes proposed affected people throughout the country.
The labor department has said it disagrees with the judge’s ruling, and is exploring next steps. The federal justice department is also examining the decision.
The university will provide updates as quickly as possible, but it is likely no announcements will come before next week.