NFIB member will testify this morning on Capitol Hill
For Immediate Release
Andrew Wimer, 202-314-2073 or 703-298-5938 (cell)
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Washington, DC (June 23, 2016) – National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) member Albert Macre of Steubenville, Ohio will testify this morning on how the Department of Labor’s recent changes to the overtime rule hurt small businesses and their employees. Macre owns Payroll+ Services and is helping a number of other businesses adapt to the changes. The hearing at the House Small Business Committee is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in Room 2360 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
“DOL’s new overtime rule will have a significant, and in my belief, negative impact on employers and employees alike,” Macre will testify. “In order for small businesses to avoid costly overtime pay, managers moved from their salaried positions to hourly jobs will need to keep time cards and be prohibited from working overtime, including answering email from home. This will be a burden not only financially, but in terms of productivity, as managers and supervisors will only be allowed to work when permitted. From an employee perspective, the flexibility that so many had will become a thing of the past.”
The Department of Labor has doubled the threshold for employees exempt from overtime pay from $23,660 to $47,476 annual salary. NFIB estimates that the change will impact 44 percent of small businesses. The rule could force many business owners to reclassify salaried employees to hourly positions – resulting in a loss in flexibility, bonuses, and promotion opportunities.
Macre will discuss his own difficulties in adapting his business to the rule. For most of the year, his employees work less than 40 hours a week but may work more than 40 hours during the four payroll tax months. Macre will have to make significant changes to ensure his employee’s pay stays consistent throughout the year. The added costs could also lead him to cut back on other benefits.
“In order to keep our company cash flow level, we are contemplating, for the first time in over twenty years, requiring employees to bear a share of the cost of their health insurance benefits,” Macre will testify.
For more information on NFIB and on the effects of the overtime rule on small businesses, visit www.NFIB.com/overtime.
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