In effect, the rule will require businesses, governments, educational institutions and nonprofits to pay overtime to white collar employees who make less than $47,476 annually. This rule doubles the existing threshold, and it builds in an automatic increase every three years.
The chamber has been hard at work with scores of other groups across the country attempting to communicate to the Department of Labor that this rule has unintended consequences that could potentially have disastrous consequences.
Nonprofits and educational institutions are already being hit daily with cuts and challenges that are resulting in loss of services. Imagine if they now have to calculate overtime for white collar employees. This has many nonprofit leaders very concerned, and where staffs are already bare-boned, there is little room for innovative solutions.
The Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce will continue to support congressional efforts to reverse the rule or offset its negative effects on business, nonprofits and educational institutions.
We will also continue to point out commonsense approaches to address this issue including setting the threshold at different levels depending on geographic locations around the country. It should be obvious that $47,476 annually goes a lot further in Owensboro, Ky., than it does in Manhattan or the Bay Area.
Protecting and safeguarding employee rights is important and noble. But good intentions without good strategy and commonsense usually results in harm that was never intended. Let’s hope the Department of Labor figures that out before it’s too late.
By Candance Brake President and CEO Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce