It's just a convenient excuse. I like the way one anonymous email petitioner put it. Now, with this new ruling, it would appear that they're free to do so at new, even lower, cut-rate prices. Of course, computer workers aren't taking this lying down. They've already met with labor union organizers, who are encouraging them to fight through collective bargaining.
Deals cut by unions are unaffected by the new rule.
Plus, many workers whose overtime pay was illegally withheld have only just realized that their employers may owe them. One official said the Department of Labor and Industries is fielding phone calls from computer workers who wonder if they've been cheated. If nothing else, the new rule is helping to educate the workforce. So there may be a silver lining after all. She writes about the vicissitudes of the Information Age on Wednesdays in Perspectives.