Before leaving Washington until after the November elections, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6094, the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act, that would delay the implementation of a rule changing overtime regulations.
Last spring, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized a rule that will make an additional 4.2 million to 10 million workers eligible for overtime pay. The rule changes the salary threshold for activating overtime from the current $455 per week (or $23,660 annually) to $913 per week (or $47,476 annually), and makes future increases automatic rather than requiring congressional or administrative action as has been that case since the inception of overtime regulations. The rule is scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016.
H.R. 6094 would phase in the Department of Labor rule’s increase in four steps over a five-year period, according to Shawn McBurney, SAF’s senior director of government relations, and create a “pause year” after the first, substantial increase so that the impact can be absorbed and reviewed, and eliminate the automatic update provision.
“The Senate must pass H.R. 6094 or similar legislation before a final bill can be approved and sent to the president,” McBurney said. “If the Senate acts and a final bill is passed by Congress, it is likely that President Obama will veto the bill, allowing the rule to go into effect on December 1.”
