Today, the Partnership for Workplace Opportunity submitted a letter for the record to the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship as it holds a hearing to examine the Administration’s Overtime Rule and the Rising Costs of Doing Business.
The letter asks Committee members to cosponsor S.2707, the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act as it is clear the Secretary of Labor will not reconsider the rule in a meaningful way without Congressional Action. This legislation is supported by 340 national, regional, state, and local organizations representing nonprofits, institutions of higher education, schools, cities, counties and small and large businesses across the country.
On April 22, Rep. Darin LaHood hosted a roundtable discussion on the Department of Labor’s overtime proposal attended by more than 40 representatives from the non-profit, higher education, and not-for-profit industries.
Representatives attending the discussion highlighted the many unintended consequences to their organizations should DOL’s proposal be finalized without substantive changes.
Lesley Matuszak, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Great Peoria, said that money, which is spent feeding children who need food for the weekend and after-school, would not be available because of the proposed changes.
According to Jim Runyon, executive vice president of Easter Seals of Central Illionois, the changes would hamper workplace flexibility, as many salaried employees would need to be reclassified to hourly status to control the increase in costs associated with the proposal, and drive away his 85 percent female workforce who are able to arrange their schedules to fit their needs.
Two representatives from Illinois State University, Brent Paterson (Interim Vice President for Student Affairs) and Tammy Carlson (Vice President for Human Resources) explained how the proposed changes will affect 400 employees and cost the school $3.8 million in the first year alone.
As a result of these concerns and the many others constituents in the district are raising, Rep. LaHood is cosponsoring H.R. 4773, the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act, which would block the current proposed regulation from taking effect and require the Department of Labor to conduct a deeper analysis of the impact of these changes before proceeding with a rule.
You can read more about the roundtable here and here.
