The National Retail Federation is not too thrilled about Department of Labor’s new overtime rules. The group cites Research conducted for NRF that shows the rules will force employers to limit hours or cut base pay in order to make up for the added payroll costs of overtime expansion, leaving most workers with no increase in take-home pay despite added administrative costs. A separate survey found that the majority of retail managers and assistant managers the new regulations are supposed to help oppose the plan.
NRF released the following statement from Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French in response to the proposed rules:
“These rules are a career killer. With the stroke of a pen, the Labor Department is demoting millions of workers. In the retail sector alone, hundreds of thousands of career professionals will lose their status as salaried employees and find themselves reclassified as hourly workers, depriving them of the workplace flexibility and other benefits they so highly-value. And the one-size-fits-all approach means businesses trying to make ends meet in small towns across America are now expected to pay the same salaries as those in New York City.”
“These regulations are full of false promises. Most of the people impacted by this change will not see any additional pay. Instead, this sudden and extraordinary increase will mean more red tape and fewer advancement opportunities for salaried professionals. In the real world – as opposed to D.C. conference rooms filled with career bureaucrats and political appointees – employers and employees will suffer the consequences of a policy rooted in pure politics.
“Of course, the devil is in the details, but this fight is far from over. NRF will continue to advocate alongside our congressional allies for realistic workplace policies. Overtime regulations need to be sensitive to cost-of-living differences throughout the country, moderate enough that they don’t block the career ambitions of young people and middle managers working to climb the career ladder, and gradual enough that business owners can implement them without penalizing the very people they were intended to help.”
The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) also issued warnings to its members. “This is a change that will have a negative impact on virtually every retailer and team dealer,” the NSGA said.
During the comment period last fall, NSGA submitted written testimony objecting to this change, and in fact, more than 293,000 comments were sent to the Department of Labor regarding this proposal.
“This new rule will have a serious negative impact on employers,” NSGA President & CEO Matt Carlson said. “We want our members to be prepared for this new rule and have plans in place to adapt to these changes by the December 1 implementation date.
“We ask our members to alert their human resources directors to send us their contact information, so that we may be able to provide updates as they become available,” Carlson added.
