The Labor Department set a Sept. 4 deadline for comments on the proposal. In his comments submitted Sept. 2, Mr. Littlefield said the threshold it establishes is much more than most small businesses can afford.
“We have heard the following from our membership on what business decisions this proposed rule may cause them to make,” Mr. Littlefield said.
These decisions include:
• Raising prices on goods and services;
• Laying off some workers, and changing others from salaried to hourly;
• Reducing base pay to account for overtime pay;
• Changing full-time workers to part-time;
• Reclassifying job duties;
• Delaying or canceling plans to expand the business; and
• Providing less flexibility in hours worked.
“Raising the minimum salary will be devastating to employers,” Mr. Littlefield said. “It will hinder hiring practices, freeze wages and stifle economic growth during an already sluggish economic atmosphere.
“Having managers, assistant managers and supervisors is common practice in our industry,” he said. “These employees make a respectable income on salary and are given a wide range of benefits that come with that status. We fear this proposal would cause many employers to take away the salary and benefits and rather pay the employee hourly to make up for the rising costs.”
The proposed rule can be found by clicking here.
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