June 14, 2016—The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing last Thursday titled, “The Administration’s Overtime Rule and Its Consequences for Workers, Students, Nonprofits and Small Businesses,” to address the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule.
“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,” workforce protections subcommittee chairman Tim Walberg , R-Mich., said.
Committee ranking member Robert 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.”
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) will host a webinar to discuss the implications of the DOL’s overtime rule on June 15 at 1 p.m. EST. To register, RSVP to Holly Miller in the ASA’s Washington, D.C., office.
