Chipotle Lawsuit and the Overtime Rule

A class of employees at Chipotle in New Jersey filed a lawsuit today seeking overtime pay under the Obama Administration’s rule that raised the overtime threshold to $47,476. The suit will test the scope of the  injunction issued by a Texas district court in November. Chipotle had started paying the employees overtime but then stopped shortly after the injunction issued. The lawsuit argues that the Texas injunction only prevents the U.S. DOL from enforcing the Obama rule, but that it did not invalidate the rule itself. The rule has been in limbo given the Trump Administration’s refusal to say whether it ise going to defend the rule in court. Indeed, the DOL announced today it is taking the first step toward rescinding or reconsidering the rule.