The Department of Labor keeps pushing its contentious plan to raise the salary limit for employees who are eligible for overtime pay — and the MACPA, dozens of other state CPA societies, and hundreds of businesses throughout the country keep pushing back.
The latest battles comes in the form of new legislation that would delay publication of the proposed rules until the DOL conducts a “comprehensive economic analysis of the impact of mandatory overtime expansion to small businesses, non-profits, and public employers.”
The legislation was introduced on March 17 in the Senate and House by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.). The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.).
The Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity, a coalition of “associations, businesses, and other stakeholders representing employers with millions of employees across the country in almost every industry,” is working diligently to delay the DOL’s proposed rule until enough analysis has taken place to accurately project the impact of the rule.
The MACPA is a proud member of the PPWO and supports the effort to delay the DOL’s contentious proposal.
“We are pleased Senators Alexander and Scott and Representatives Walberg and Kline have recognized the burden that this proposed rule will exact on our country’s employers and employees, and we urge Congress to delay the final rule until the Labor Department comprehensively examines its economic impact, as recommended by the Obama Administration’s Small Business Administration,” said Lisa Horn, a spokeswoman for the PPWO.
The proposed legislation comes months after the PPWO sent a strongly worded letter to Congress stating its objections to the overtime restructuring.
The DOL’s proposed rule would raise the threshold for overtime eligibility from $23,660 per year to $50,400. That’s a 113 percent increase in the overtime threshold. Such a move would make nearly 4.6 million additional workers eligible for overtime pay.
It would also put a financial squeeze on many businesses.
The final rules could take effect in late 2016 if the bid to delay publication fails.