The Rhode Island Hospitality Association (RIHA) and National Restaurant Association (NRA) recently issued an action alert on proposed national overtime regulations, urging members to contact legislators to support the “Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act.”
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently proposed significant changes to the nation’s overtime regulations. If the DOL regulations go into effect, both organizations say those regulations will create challenges for restaurant owners and likely hit employees in their own pocketbooks.
The DOL proposal would alter the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including an increase of more than 100 percent in the minimum salary threshold (from $455 per week to $970) for exempt employees.
According to a written statement from both groups, “This would greatly limit workplace flexibility and increase labor costs for restaurants across the country. The proposal is on a fast track. Implementation and compliance requirements could come to your restaurant within months.”
Both groups agree that Congress has proposed a sensible solution that will slow down the DOL overtime rule and assess the impact before the rule can be implemented. The “Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act” would require the DOL to perform additional analysis on the impact the changes would have on employees, businesses and the economy.
