CEI Labor Policy Experts Warn New Obama Overtime Rule Will Hurt Jobs, Businesses

“The Department of Labor’s moves to revise overtime rules are another of its attempts to set the clock back on modern work practices," said Iain Murray, CEI Vice President for Strategy. "The new rules will affect small but growing businesses engaged in interstate commerce and will make it much less likely that they will hire more employees. The rules will even mean that some executives paid as much as $122,000 a year will be entitled to overtime pay. That will mean even less opportunity for young people and immigrants to enter full-time employment while well-off people see their take-home pay grow. This is not the news the economy needs while it is struggling to deliver sustained growth.”

“The latest Obama Administration ‘pen-and-phone’ evasion of Congress will transform millions of middle-class salaried workers with benefits into hourly workers who punch a time-card, lack benefits, and have managerial responsibilities stripped away," said Aloysius Hogan, CEI senior fellow. "Business owners will be forced to off-set the new costs with some combination of lay-offs, lower base pay, and hiring or promotion freezes.”