Plan will be tough on small businesses and limit their employees’ opportunities for growth
The Wolf administration issued a final overtime proposal for Pennsylvania that will increase the salary threshold of employees required to be paid time and a half when working over 40 hours per week. The threshold for overtime would rise to a salary of $45,500 per year, a 92% increase over the current level. The plan is expected to be voted on later this month by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission. NFIB, the leading small business association in the nation, with 12,500 members in Pennsylvania, adamantly opposes the proposed rule.
“Younger employees who want to rise up the ranks would be less likely to have that opportunity under this overtime proposal,” said Gordon Denlinger, state director of NFIB in Pennsylvania. “Let’s say a business owner wants to give an employee more responsibility, like opening the shop themselves or other management duties—the hike in pay required could discourage that opportunity for growth and better earnings in the future.”
The federal US Department of Labor recently proposed a salary threshold for overtime pay at a much lower level–nearly ten thousand dollars a year less than what is being proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf.
“The failure of the PA Department of Labor and Industry to align their overtime threshold with the recently revised federal level will force small businesses to follow two different laws impacting their hourly employees,” added Denlinger. “This will create such confusion and make it hard for small businesses to comply, especially when they not only run the business every day but often have to do all that paperwork.”
Help stop this Pennsylvania proposal by sending comments by the close of business November 18 to the state Department of Labor and Industry and urging the Independent Regulatory Review Commission to disapprove of this plan. Go to this NFIB link to comment, and we will forward what it to those offices: https://www.votervoice.net/NFIB/38/campaigns/69028/respond
