"Lawmakers from both parties recognize that the administration’s radical changes to overtime rules are too much, too fast."
WASHINGTON – The National Retail Federation praised today’s House passage of legislation that would delay the Labor Department’s expansion of overtime rules for six months. Prior to the vote, NRF told lawmakers in a letter that action on the legislation would be included in its annual voting scorecard.
“Lawmakers from both parties recognize that the administration’s radical changes to overtime rules are too much, too fast,” NRF Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French said. “With the December 1st compliance deadline looming, the window for congressional action is quickly closing. Pushing pause on implementing these one-size-fits-all regulations would provide welcome breathing room for retailers large and small struggling to comply with the changes during the holidays, their busiest time of the year. We urge the Senate to help millions of employers and employees by stepping in to help fix or delay the overtime rules."
The Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act approved today would give employers an extra six months to come into compliance with new overtime rules that are set to take effect December 1 by pushing the deadline to June 1, 2017.
The new regulations will require employers to pay overtime to most workers who make up to $47,476 per year when they work more than 40 hours a week, more than double the current threshold of $23,660. Despite the dramatic increase, a recent survey by human resources company Paychex Inc. found that 49 percent of business owners polled were unaware of the change.
Research conducted for NRF shows that the regulations will force employers to limit hours or cut base pay in order to make up for added payroll costs, leaving most workers with no increase in take-home pay despite added administrative costs. A separate survey found that the majority of retail managers and assistant managers the regulations are supposed to help oppose the plan.
About NRF
The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association. Based in Washington, D.C., NRF represents discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF.com