Washington, DC (June 30, 2015) – The Department of Labor’s new
rules for overtime, released today, will make it harder for small employers to
promote workers up to management level by creating additional costs and
record-keeping headaches, said the National
Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
“This
is going to be especially difficult for small businesses in small markets where
wages are commensurate with the cost of living,” said NFIB Sr. Legal Counsel Beth Milito.
“Promoting someone to manager is going to be an expensive proposition
for many small businesses, and the result will be less mobility and fewer
opportunities for workers at the bottom.”
Under
current rules, managers earning more than $23,660 per year are exempt from the
overtime requirement. They don’t have to
be paid time and a half, in other words, for working more than 40 hours per
week. The new rule raises the threshold
to $50,440, which means that many more employees will be eligible for overtime.
“That’s
a very big expense for small restaurants and retailers, and the businesses that
will be hit hardest are in parts of the country where the cost of living is low,”
said Milito. “Employers will be forced
to limit hours for their workers and eliminate management positions.”
According
to NFIB, the rule is the latest in a string of sweet-sounding, well-meaning
regulations pushed by unions and loved by politicians and bureaucrats who don’t
know the first thing about running a business.
“Whether
it’s mandatory paid time off, mandatory higher wages, fixed work schedules or
the overtime rule, this administration is regulating away the ability of local
business owners to manage their own employees,” said Milito.
Watch Beth’s comment below:
