Senate labor committee Chairman Lamar Alexander made the following statement on the Department of Labor’s proposal to more than double the salary threshold for exemption from overtime pay:
“Just imagine how discouraging this rule will be to the working mother who can no longer negotiate her schedule to, say, work from home when she needs to, or to the young restaurant assistant manager who loses his title and is returned to an hourly job with no more pay, or to the job seeker who discovers that the only available jobs are part-time.
What Washington owes these workers is policies that create better opportunities, more flexibility and enable them to have more control over their work lives.”
The Obama administration’s proposed rule would require employers to pay overtime to nearly all salaried workers making up to $50,400 a year. Today employers are required to pay overtime to hourly workers as well as salaried workers making up to $23,660 a year. According to a recent study published by the National Retail Federation, the proposal could result in reduced hours and benefits, more part-time work, fewer advancement opportunities for impacted workers, and in some cases, could lead to impacted workers having their job duties replaced by automated systems.