Small Businesses Seek Reconsideration of DOL Overtime Authority | NFIB

NFIB asks full 5th Circuit to reconsider Mayfield v. U.S. Department of Labor panel decision

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 4, 2024) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Robert Mayfield v. U.S. Department of Labor urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to grant en banc review of a three-judge panel decision concerning the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its exemption from overtime pay requirements for “executive, administrative, or professional” employees (EAP exemption). This case questions whether the Department of Labor’s authority on the EAP exemption allows it to impose a salary threshold test to determine if an employee qualifies for the exemption.

“DOL’s imposition of a salary threshold test for the EAP exemption and its continued increases of that salary threshold are a significant burden on small businesses,” said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “Congress did not give the Department of Labor clear and direct authority to impose a salary threshold for the EAP exemption. NFIB urges the full Court to consider small businesses and review the panel’s decision.”

NFIB’s amicus brief argues two main points: 1) The panel’s decision creates uncertainty within the Fifth Circuit about the Department’s ability to raise the salary threshold, 2) FLSA exemptions are important to the statute’s purpose and should not be restricted.

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.