Nearly half the states, including Michigan, are suing the U.S. Department of Labor in an effort to block the Obama Administration’s new overtime rule that would significantly increase the number of people eligible for overtime pay.

State Attorney General Bill Schuette, who signed onto the suit, said the new rule that’s set to take effect Dec. 1 will hamper job creation and increase unemployment. Patrick Wright, Mackinac Center vice president for legal affairs and director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, told WNEM TV5 that the rule may be designed to increase wages, but will do the opposite.

A lot of companies, they’re not miraculously going to come up with more money. They’re going to find ways to make ends meet and that’s probably going to harm the very people that this regulation is supposed to help.

Currently, salaried workers who make $23,660 per year or less are eligible for overtime pay, but the new rule would raise the cutoff to $47,500.

Watch the full news report at WNEM TV5 here. 

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