Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s Weekly Column: October 7, 2016
Protecting American Jobs | By Congressman Bob Goodlatte
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Washington, DC (Oct. 7, 2016) - When you have an expensive purchase looming or a big bill coming due, you like a little advance notice, right? The same goes for America’s job creators. Businesses both large and small need time to comply with new federal regulations that mean added costs to their bottom line. That’s one reason why the Department of Labor’s costly new overtime rule is particularly troubling.
Many folks across the Sixth District enjoy the financial security and stability of working a salaried job. However, the Department of Labor’s overtime rule may threaten that stability for many families. This new rule, set to go into effect on December 1, would raise the overtime salary threshold for workers from $23,660 to $47,476. This change means that workers who make less than $47,476 annually will now be eligible for overtime pay.
While this may sound good at first, there are serious concerns that this drastic and immediate increase will force employers to move employees from salary to hourly wages to make ends meet and absorb the additional costs. When this happens, it’s the employee who is most negatively impacted. Salaried employees have access to a unique flexibility that has proven beneficial to their work lives, families, and employers. Government policies, however well-intentioned, should not strip employees of the flexibility to leave an hour early to care for an elderly parent, arrive at work an hour later in order to make a doctor’s appointment, or leave early to watch their child’s soccer game. It’s simply unfair. Nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, and young people seeking employment would be hit particularly hard by this rule.
We need to at least press “pause” on this rule and give businesses more time to get a handle on the increased costs. Recently, the House of Representatives passed the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act to give employers six additional months to comply. While more time would be beneficial, I have also cosponsored the Protecting Workforce Advancement Opportunity Act to require the Department of Labor to nullify the new rule and conduct an economic analysis of the impact on small business before proposing another rule.
Time and again, employers in the Sixth District have told me that federal red tape stands in the way of hiring and growth. The National Federation of Independent Business even estimates that the rule will harm 44 percent of small businesses. While federal regulations regarding wages should be reviewed from time to time, the overtime rule will put many of the jobs the rule seeks to help at risk.
The American people want to see an end to economic uncertainty and a plan to create jobs, not increase barriers that prevent job creation. The House’s Better Way agenda is focused on solving today’s problems by getting our economy back on track. I will continue working to advance policies that empower both our nation’s employers and employees so that our economy can flourish. | | | | | |
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