SBE Council Responds to DOL’s Extreme Overtime Proposal: A Labor Day “Blow” to Small Business

By SBE Council at 30 August, 2023, 1:37 pm

NEWS

For Immediate Release

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its much-anticipated regulatory proposal to dramatically alter the nation’s overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In response, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) said the extreme proposal will generate Labor Day worry and frustration among the nation’s small business owners, their dedicated employees, and those just entering or will soon enter the workforce.

“DOL leadership and regulators are out-of-touch with the modern economy, how employees want to work, and the flexibility and incentive models that are serving employees quite well. Moreover, the extreme ‘overtime rule’ changes will be costly for small businesses, as labor costs are a relentless pain point in the aftermath of Covid-19. Rather than helping workers, the proposed rule will reduce opportunities, particularly for new labor-force entrants who hope to ascend a successful career ladder. The pre-Labor Day rollout of this callous overtime proposal is a blow to small business owners and their workers,” said SBE Council president & CEO Karen Kerrigan.

The proposed overtime rule would increase the minimum salary threshold to $55,068, up from the current $35,568, a nearly 55% increase. Then, automatic increases to the threshold will be updated every three years (tied to the 35th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time non hourly workers in the lowest-wage Census Region), among other changes.

“Inflation and dealing with inflationary pressures continue to burden and agonize small business owners. Government-induced wage inflation, as proposed by President Biden’s DOL via the overtime rule, has been unveiled with no concern about its impact on small businesses. Upon releasing their proposal, the DOL said that the agency will continue ‘stakeholder input during the public comment period.’ They heard from the small business community the first time around about the potential crushing effects on small firms, and we were ignored. But we will not give up on making our voices heard,” added Kerrigan

CONTACT:

Karen Kerrigan, kkerrigan@sbecouncil.org

Raymond Keating, rkeating@sbecouncil.org

SBE Council is a nonpartisan advocacy, research and education organization dedicated to protecting small business and promoting entrepreneurship. For nearly 30 years, SBE Council has worked on and advanced a range of private sector and public policy initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem for strong startup activity and small business growth.

Visit www.sbecouncil.org for additional information. Twitter: @SBECouncil

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A Labor Day “Blow” for Small Biz

For Immediate Release

August 30, 2023

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its much-anticipated regulatory proposal to dramatically alter the nation’s overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) said will generate pre-Labor Day worry and frustration for the nation’s small business owners and their dedicated employees.

“Inflation and dealing with inflationary pressures continue to burden and agonize small business owners. Government-induced wage inflation, as proposed by President Biden’s DOL via the overtime rule, has been unveiled with no concern about its impact on small businesses, In releasing their proposal, the DOL said that the agency will continue ‘stakeholder input during the public comment period.’ They heard from the small business community the first time around and we were ignored, but we will not give up on making our voices heard,” added Kerrigan

CONTACT:

Karen Kerrigan, kkerrigan@sbecouncil.org

Raymond Keating, rkeating@sbecouncil.org

Visit www.sbecouncil.org for additional information. Twitter: @SBECouncil

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