Timely challenge

We applaud Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt for joining with 20 other states in filing a federal lawsuit last week that challenges the new federal overtime rule dictated by the U.S. Department of Labor. The new rule would double the salary-level threshold for executive, administrative and professional employees to be exempt from overtime. After Dec. 1, 2016, all employees—including state and local government employees—are entitled to overtime if they earn less than $47,476 annually, regardless of whether they perform executive, administrative or professional duties.

“Our legal objection is that any power to impose this mandate on states rests with Congress, which has not delegated that power to the bureaucrats at the U.S. Department of Labor,” Schmidt said about the filing.

The Department of Labor estimates that about 40,000 private employees in Kansas will also be affected by the new overtime rule. The complaint filed last week urges the court to prevent the implementation of the new rule before it takes effect Dec. 1, a deadline many employers feel they cannot meet because of the reorganization of duties and practices it requires.

It’s clear bureaucratic Washington has no clue about the challenge of running a privately owned small business, particularly in rural America. Or they simply don’t care. —DR

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