The $50,440 Question : New DOL Overtime Rules Sent to OMB for Final Review

Overtime Rules Send to OMB  

I’ve been in Washington DC for the past few days attending the SHRM Legislative and Employment Law Conference where they’ve been sharing some great information.  Out of all the subjects we’ve been hearing about, the DOL Overtime rule changes has dominated the hallway discussions all week.  So you can only imagine what the hallways sounded like at the Renaissance  hotel when this SHRM tweet made the rounds.

BREAKING: DOL sends #overtime rule to OMB for review–our coverage, links to more info: https://t.co/zHk0bn5KPm #SHRMLeg @SHRM @SHRMATeam

— SHRM HR News (@SHRMHRNews) March 15, 2016

The Government Affairs team at SHRM shared in a briefing given on Sunday that there might be an earlier than planned release of the proposed regulations to OMB as part of  a complicated political process related to rule-making that gets further complicated by the fact that is a presidential election year. Many in the business community are very concerned about this status, fearing that DOL has implemented the new rules without taking the time to properly analyze the impact of the rule on the economy, and especially on small business owners.

Members of Congress opposed to the new standard have indicated that they will attempt to utilize the Congressional Review Act to revoke the new DOL standard if and when it was issued.  Assuming they can muster the votes to do so, and assuming they could override a veto, this would effectively prevent implementation of the proposed standard and force the entire process to start over again.  

Politico Morning Shift ran some good coverage on the potential challenge this morning.  

The proposed overtime rule, published in the Federal Register last July, would raise to $50,440 the salary threshold under which virtually all workers are guaranteed time-and-a-half pay — more than double the current threshold of $23,660. That’s a fairly dramatic change, and it seems likely Congress will take a run at blocking it.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-shift#ixzz430B2Is1P
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Persuader Rules Up Next?

As always, the roller coaster ride continues, with the Persuader rules expected to follow soon.  CUE members can still register for our  Persuader webinar on March 18th.  Join Phil Wilson of LRI and LLAC Attorney Doug Seaton for a webinar covering the information CUE members will need in preparing for the DOL Persuader Rules. Register here!