House Small Business Committee Zeroes In on Impact of Proposed Overtime Expansion on Employees

Employee Relations, Employment Law

Three small business owners told members of the House Small Business Committee that the Labor Department's proposed overtime rule is likely to force them to cut jobs, shift workers from salaried to hourly pay status, scale back benefits, and eliminate lower-level management opportunities.  According to Rep. Cresent Hardy (R-NV), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations, the proposed rule "adopts a one-size-fits-all standard" that "does not recognize the geographic diversity of the American economy and will particularly hurt rural small businesses that are still recovering from the Great Recession."  Ranking Minority Member Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) also said there "remains some concern" about how the proposed rule "will add significant compliance costs" on small entities, but noted the proposal would extend overtime protections to almost five million employees.