WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Cresent Hardy (NV-4) held an investigative hearing Thursday on a new labor rule that would require small businesses to expand the number of employees receiving overtime pay and put at risk competitive compensation packages for existing salaried employees.
“Small business owners and their employees should be afraid of what is about to be forced on them by the Department of Labor. Competitive compensation packages for a host of employees will be seriously threatened and potentially changed to an hourly rate that isn’t sustainable for most of Nevada’s small businesses. Had my business been required to make this change, my employees could have lost their health insurance and other benefits,” said Congressman Hardy, Chair of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations.
On July 6, 2015, the Department of Labor proposed increasing the number of employees required to receive overtime pay by raising the current salary threshold. This threshold, last adjusted in 2004 to $23,660, would require all employers to provide overtime pay to any employee making less than $50,440, regardless of existing salary and benefits. According to estimates provided by the Department of Labor, this would impact 211,000 small businesses nationally.
“A one-size-fits-all approach from Washington rarely works for our diverse nation. This requirement removes an employer’s ability to recruit and retain their best workers. Being a salaried employee brings both demands and flexibility – a flexibility that is lost by forcing anyone into an hourly wage. Nothing prevents a business owner from providing benefits reflective of long hours, but we need to preserve their freedom to make these decisions based on their own financial ability.
“I have heard from retailers, home builders, and restaurateurs who all shared concerns on how this would impact their workforce. If the President wants this to happen, let’s have that conversation where it should be – in Congress,” said Hardy.
To read Congressman Hardy’s opening statement at this hearing, visit here.
For more information exploring this issue, visit here.
Riggghhht. Because paying employees more fairly and compensating them something additional for excessive overtime work will really “remove an employer’s ability to recruit and retain their best workers” because, you know, they really hate being paid fairly and not abused.
His statement that “Nothing prevents a business owner from providing benefits reflective of long hours, but we need to preserve their freedom to make these decisions based on their own financial ability” shows his disgust for anyone trying to protect the rights of employees. History has shown that businesses will abuse labor as much as they are allowed. Hardy, of course, only wants to protect and preserve the rights of “people like himself”, the “employer class” and let people like him who are even against minimum wage requirements mistreat workers as much as they want. History is full of examples of the horrific abuse of workers when left at the mercy of greedy employers. And, of course, Hardy also doesn’t particularly like those darn child labor laws either. What a guy!