Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) recently introduced legislation meant to make the new Department of Labor overtime regulations easier for businesses to implement. The Overtime Reform and Enhancement Act was introduced in the House and seeks to phase in the DOL’s raised threshold of overtime pay.
Previous regulations stated that employees making up to $23,660 per year were entitled to overtime pay when working more than 40 hours a week. The new regulations cast a wider net, including anyone earning up to $47,476 annually. The change is slated to take effect Dec. 1, 2016. The act seeks to make the change more gradual, starting with a threshold annual salary of just under $36,000, with small increases to reach $47,476 in 2019.
The National Retail Federation supports the bill, and is lobbying for passage before the Dec. 1 deadline. “Gradual change will minimize the negative impacts for both employers and workers, such as possible layoffs of full-time workers and hiring freezes,” said David French, senior vice president of government relations for the NRF.
