WASHINGTON (July 15, 2016) — The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) have endorsed a bill that would soften the impact to small businesses of the Labor Department's new overtime pay rule.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., would phase in over three years the Labor Department's threshold for salaried employees to receive overtime pay, rather than have the new figure go into effect all at once.
Issued May 18, the new rule more than doubles the threshold at which salaried employees would receive time-and-a-half, to $47,776 from $23,660.
The rule requires the new threshold to become effective Dec. 1, 2016, but Rep. Schrader's bill would phase in the threshold over three years, with the full amount not becoming established until Dec. 1, 2019.
“Small business owners are facing a tight deadline to figure out how to comply with the Department of Labor's big changes to overtime rules,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan.
“Congressman Schrader's sensible measure would provide relief for many of these businesses and give them more time to plan for payroll changes,” Ms. Duggan said.
The NRF praised the Schrader bill in similar terms.
“Rep. Schrader's legislation will help blunt the damage to America's job creators that the reckless new rules will cause unless Congress takes action by December,” said David French, NRF senior vice president for government relations.