Industry associations oppose proposed overtime rule
A proposed overtime rule from the Department of Labor (DOL) is coming under heavy scrutiny from a number of industry advocacy associations.
The DOL announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require overtime pay for most salaried workers earning less than $55,068 per year ($1,059 per week), a 55% increase from the current threshold of $35,568 for mandatory overtime pay.
The proposed rule would also automatically update the threshold every three years with increases that are tied to the 35th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time non-hourly workers in the lowest-wage Census Region (currently the South).
Additionally, the rule would also update the earnings threshold for the highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption to $143,988, linking it to the annualized weekly earnings of the 85th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally.
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) said it will be submitting formal comments on behalf of the LBM industry in opposition to the new regulations.
The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy will be hosting a Small Business Roundtable on the proposed rule, with a date yet to be determined.
Once published in the Federal Register, the notice of proposed rulemaking will be open for public comment for 60 days and NLBMDA members are also encouraged to submit their own responses as individual voices of the small business community.
The National Association of Wholesale-Distributors (NAW) has already filed comments opposing the rule.
“The Department of Labor’s proposed one-size-fits-all wage rule ignores marketplace discrepancies, and only further destabilizes an already strained marketplace for workers,” said NAW CEO Eric Hoplin. “Compensation models have adapted over the years with factors like commissions, bonuses, out-of-office flexibility, and increased employer training, factoring into compensation decisions, all to the benefit of the employee, this rule ignores those advances and treats all workers the same.”
According to the NAW, a new, nationalized overtime rule would cause marketplace inefficiencies that would disadvantage those it means to help while driving up prices on consumers.
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the national construction industry trade association representing 22,000 members, is also opposed to the proposal.
“ABC is disappointed that the DOL is moving forward with a proposed overtime rule since multiple industries, like construction, are still grappling with the lingering economic consequences of inflation, global supply chain disruptions, rising materials prices and workforce shortages, all of which push operational costs ever higher,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs, in a statement issued by the association.
“It is unfortunate that the DOL did not listen to our repeated requests to abandon or postpone issuance of the proposed overtime rule until the current economic situation stabilizes or improves, allowing employees and employers to fully navigate the paradigm shift of work in America without new unnecessary and costly red tape,” Brubeck added.
NLBMDA is collecting input from LBM dealers about the impact that changes to the overtime rule could have on employers and their employees.
The association is asking members to respond to an online survey, which will be used to directly support advocacy efforts against the new threshold for mandatory overtime pay.
