Do you have employees within a salary range of $23,000 to $50,000?  If so, you may be impacted by a pending U.S. Department of Labor rule that would change the limit on exempt salaries for mandated overtime pay.  This rule change will have a significant impact on the bottom-line for business and will force employers to make some difficult human resource decision. 

 

The Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce Government Relations Committee and the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance have opposed these proposed changes to the federal overtime rules.  Known as the "White Collar Exemption," the Department of Labor has proposed changing the overtime exemption threshold from $455/week, or $23,660/year to $970/week or $50,440, an increase of 113%.  The chamber's government relations committee agrees that an adjustment in the threshold is warranted, but to more than double the threshold is extreme, harmful to business, and could ultimately hurt the employees the Department of Labor is trying to help. 

 

While it may be impossible to stop the change, businesses can still let their voices be heard in Washington D.C. and urge changes that are more manageable for businesses and organizations.  Kent Wood of the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance has prepared this informational piece to help you learn how this will impact your business and how to share that information with our lawmakers.  http://nmichiganbusiness.com/2016/03/21/overtime-rules-resource-page/