By: Haider Murtaza
On Thursday, June 9, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on the new Overtime Rule issued by the Department of Labor earlier this month. The hearing opened up with remarks from the Chairman John Kline, followed by opinions on the issue by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA-03), and Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI-07). Testifying in the room were Tina Sherby, Jarred Bernstein, Michael Rounds, and Alex Passantino.
Tina Sherby from the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) opened up her argument, “final overtime rule is too much, too fast -”. She mentioned that there will be missed opportunity for rules that work for both employees, and employers. The threshold increasing every three years would cause 100% damage to the non-profit organizations. There would be reduced services provided by the non-profit organizations, including veterinary services, and emergency help such as suicide hotlines to which Representative Glenn Thompson responded, “It would be a shame to see the loss of those lives.” Sherby also added that, “doubling the salary threshold presents significant challenges for employers -”.
Michael Rounds, the Associate Vice Provost for University of Kansas directed his testimony at the effect of the rule to higher education. He commented that the passing of the rule would be difficult to absorb without impacting university services. Although he argued that in some cases it was appropriate; in many other cases non-exempt employees would have to be re-categorized. The biggest concern he presented was that tuition costs would be raised along with costs for research. Ultimately, students would bear the burden of this rule and it would limit their ability to attain academic success.
Also disagreeing with the rule; Alex Passantino, leader of the Wage and Hour Litigation Group of his firm, Seyfarth Shaw, works closely with employers to address their concerns. He specified the challenges they would have to face due to this overtime rule. It would limit career advancement for employees, and there would be less incentive pay. Employers would be required to track time to which Passantino said, “how does employer decide what time is paid, and what is not?” Employers would eventually have to decide whether their employees would get overtime pay on a salary basis or hourly basis.
Dr. Jared Bernstein, who served as Chief Economist and Economic Adviser in the Obama Administration voiced his support of the new DOL ruling on overtime. He noted it was essential labor standards are updated, and the new threshold was reasonable. He went on to say trade groups and pro-business organizations have shown a “knee-jerk reaction” to the ruling. Further he believes that the rule not taking into effect for another three months would provide adequate time for companies to assess budget needs.
Congressman John Carter raised his voice towards Dr. Bernstein for the effect on small businesses as he used to be a small business owner himself. He argued that since Dr. Bernstein has never been a small business owner, he would not know the struggles of working 80+ hours a week. That being said, it is vital for business owner’s voice to be heard since they are among those who are directly affected by this rule.
Haider Murtaza is an Intern of Government Relations & Public Policy at IFA
Published: 2016-06-14 13:57
