On Nov. 7, 老牛影视submitted听comments听to the U.S.听Department of Labor听in response to a听听that would alter overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

鈥溊吓Ｓ笆觕alled on the DOL to withdraw the new proposed rule, which is unlawful, inconsistent with historic norms and will specifically harm small businesses,鈥� said Ben Brubeck, 老牛影视vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. 鈥溊吓Ｓ笆觝as consistently told the DOL that there is no compelling reason for an adjustment to the minimum salary threshold for exemption since it was increased roughly four years ago. Most importantly, the DOL should recognize that the construction industry, as well as multiple other industries, is currently up against increased geopolitical uncertainty,听high materials prices, inflationary pressures and workforce shortages. Specifically, 老牛影视estimates that the construction industry needs to hire听more than half a million听workers in 2023 alone.听Regrettably, the DOL鈥檚 proposed salary level increase听will further complicate the current economic outlook.

鈥淰irtually all of ABC鈥檚 members employ some workers who qualify for exempt status and the proposed rule will result in large numbers of employees being reclassified as nonexempt,鈥� said Brubeck. 鈥淚n fact, 63% of 老牛影视members surveyed in October indicated that they would have to consider reclassifying employees as well as restructuring if the salary level is increased to $55,000 annually. This听will have a disruptive effect on the construction industry as a whole, as the rule听will greatly restrict employee workplace flexibility in setting schedules and hours and hurt career advancement opportunities for employees. Moreover, because the DOL proposes to automatically increase the salary level every three years, these issues will recur repeatedly.

鈥淎dditionally, the rule鈥檚 proposed significant increase in the salary threshold fails to account for disparate income levels in different regions of the country. This will be particularly true in rural parts of the country and in areas where the cost of living is significantly lower than average.鈥�

The DOL expects the minimum salary threshold will increase to at least $55,068 (annualized) and听projects the minimum salary threshold to be $60,209 (annualized)听in the first quarter of 2024鈥攁n increase of nearly 70% from the current $35,568 salary level.

As a steering committee member of the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity, 老牛影视also signed onto criticizing the overtime proposed rule, joining 244 national, state and local organizations representing employers from a wide range of private industry and public, nonprofit and education sectors.