21 states challenge Obama’s overtime rules

The overtime rules implemented by the Obama administration are scheduled to take effect Dec. 1. The regulation, which was finalized in May, makes anyone earning up to $47,476 a year, or roughly $913 a week, eligible for overtime pay — a dramatic increase over the $23,660 cutoff now.

It also argues the change would upset the state budgeting process by requiring states to pay overtime to more employees.

“Longstanding federal law requires an overtime exemption for ‘bona fide executive, administrative or professional’ employees,” Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R) said in statement to the Review-Journal.

He said the federal government “is forcing state, local and private employers to pay overtime to any employee who earns under a certain amount.”

The Department of Labor says the rule will extend overtime to more than 4 million workers in its first year.

“This long-awaited update will result in a meaningful boost to many workers’ wallets, and will go a long way toward realizing President Obama’s commitment to ensuring every worker is compensated fairly for their hard work,” the agency said, according to the Review-Journal.

Other states that joined in the suit are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.