Last Thursday, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing titled, “The Administration’s Overtime Rule and Its Consequences for Workers, Students, Nonprofits and Small Businesses.” The hearing addressed the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule, which doubles the salary threshold under which employees qualify for overtime.
Witnesses included:
- Jared Bernstein, Ph.D., senior fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Alexander Passantino, partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP Washington, D.C.
- Michael Rounds, associate vice provost for Human Resource Management, University of Kansas
- Tina Sharby , chief human resources officer, Easter Seals, testifying on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management
Committee ranking member Robert “Bobby” Scott, D-Va., said, “The overtime protections in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 were intended to curb overwork and help create jobs by encouraging employers to hire more workers, rather than overworking a few. But the overtime salary threshold has been allowed to erode so badly that today a worker earning less than the poverty threshold for a family of four still makes too much to automatically qualify for overtime pay… the Department of Labor took a long-overdue step toward addressing the income inequality crisis facing our nation by restoring and strengthening overtime protections for millions of Americans.”
In contrast, Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., explained, “Because of this rule, many Americans will soon realize they have fewer jobs prospects, less flexibility in the workplace and fewer opportunities to climb the economic ladder. Thousands of salaried workers will be demoted to hourly status. These workers will feel as though they’ve taken a step back in their careers when they’re forced to clock their hours, and they’ll no longer have flexible schedules to balance work and family. With this shift, workers will have fewer opportunities for on-the-job-training and career advancement … The bottom line is that this rule hurts the very individuals the administration claims it will help.”
To learn more about DOL’s overtime rule, the Automotive Service Association (ASA) invites all interested parties to participate in an interactive webinar on June 15. The webinar will begin at 1 p.m. EST and will include time for questions. For more information or to register for the webinar, please RSVP to Holly Miller in ASA’s Washington, D.C., office at [email protected].
