Terry Shea, an Alabama Retail Association board member and co-owner of Wrapsody in Hoover and Auburn, along with the manager of the Hoover Wrapsody, Bridget Veazey, appear in a just-released video featuring the voices of those adversely affected by the Department of Labor’s proposed rule change for overtime.
View Video
(Veazey begins at 2:13; Shea at 2:51)
The final overtime rule is expected to be released this month (May 2016), once the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completes its review. The rule will be effective 60 days after it is final.
Read more about the proposed overtime rule
You can make a difference by contacting OMB directly or contacting your U.S. senators and representatives and asking them to support legislation that calls for better analysis before changes are made.
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H.R. 4773 by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and S. 2707 by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act, require the U.S. Labor Department perform a detailed impact analysis prior to implementing changes to the white-collar exemptions under the Fair Labor Standard Act’s overtime pay requirements.
Currently, a person must satisfy three criteria to qualify as exempt from federal overtime pay requirements: first, they must be paid on a salaried basis; second, that salary must be more than $455/week ($23,660 annually); and third, their “primary duties” must be consistent with managerial, professional or administrative positions as defined by DOL.
The proposed rule increases the salary level to more than $970/week, which translates into $50,440 annually.
“I’m compensated fairly for my job. It is completely realistic,” Veazy said. Under the new rule, though, “I’m going to be held to a 40-hour work week. If this rule change takes effect, I will be demoted.”
Shea said, “This regulation is meant to protect the worker. Ultimately, it is to the detriment of the worker.”