Paul DeCamp Quoted in “5th Circuit Signs Off on DOL’s Overtime Salary Basis Test”

Paul DeCamp, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in HR Dive in “5th Circuit Signs Off on DOL’s Overtime Salary Basis Test,” by Ryan Golden.

Following is an excerpt:

The 5th’s Circuit decision provides insight into one of the most significant labor and employment law questions to emerge following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. ...

The court’s approach was similar to that used in another recent decision in which it struck down a separate DOL final rule on the FLSA’s tip credit regulations, according to Paul DeCamp, member of the firm at Epstein Becker Green and former administrator of DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. In both cases, DeCamp said, the 5th Circuit focused on the meaning of the FLSA’s statute and used that analysis to determine whether Congress delegated authority to DOL.

Though this resulted in the court ultimately concluding that DOL did have the authority to consider salary, DeCamp said that the 5th Circuit appeared to acknowledge that the Supreme Court could decide the question differently. He added that he expects an appeal of Mayfield.

“I don’t know whether [the plaintiffs] will succeed, but I don’t know that this is the last word on this issue,” DeCamp said.

The 5th Circuit also weighed in on whether the salary basis test implicates the major questions doctrine, under which courts may reject claims of agency authority that concern issues of vast economic or political significance. It concluded that DOL’s 2019 Trump-era overtime rule did not meet either threshold, but the 5th Circuit also noted that there is uncertainty as to the doctrine’s precise use in judicial analysis.

“What we’re looking at is the court struggling to apply that relatively new doctrine,” DeCamp said.

Despite the Mayfield decision, DOL still faces potential legal roadblocks toward implementation of its most recent overtime final rule. A Texas district court has already blocked that rule from taking effect for the state government’s employees.

DeCamp said he advises employers to prepare for federal regulations as if they will take effect, even if a successful court challenge is possible. “If it happens it happens, but employers should always do their best to be prepared,” he added. “As an employer, you don’t want to be caught flat-footed.”