September 1, 2017
The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) welcomes action by the Eastern District Court of Texas striking down the Obama administration’s overtime rule. The overtime rule would have required employers to pay overtime to most salaried workers earning less than $47,476 annually, a drastic increase from the current annual salary limit of $23,660.
The rule was initially blocked in November last year, but on Thursday the judge took action to permanently strike down this regulation.
“Stopping the previous administration’s overtime rule was a top issue for ACCA members because it would have been a job killer,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, President and CEO of ACCA. “Besides the paper work and increased costs to run a business, our contractors were concerned for the future of their younger employees. Contractors would have hired fewer managerial positions, which would have signaled to younger staff that there was little opportunity for growth in their companies,” continued Stalknecht.
ACCA was the leading voice for HVACR contractors in opposition to the Obama administration’s rule, highlighting the devastating impacts this rule would have had on small businesses to Members of Congress and other policy makers. ACCA worked with our partners and coalitions on legislation that would have prevented this rule from being implemented, and provided timely updates about these efforts to our members.
For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Todd Washam, ACCA’s Director of Industry and External Relations, at todd.washam@acca.org.