Retailers fight to stop Obama’s overtime rule

The retail industry is calling on the Obama administration to rethink its plan to make salaried workers who earn up to $50,000 annually eligible for overtime pay. 

In meetings with administration officials and in a letter to Congress on Wednesday, the National Retail Federation called the Department of Labor’s proposed overtime rule “misguided and extreme.” 

{mosads}NRF claims the rule, which stemmed from an executive order President Obama issued in March 2014, fails to account for regional differences in the nation’s economy and will disproportionately impact employees and employers in areas like the South and Midwest.

“The Department’s one-size-fits-all rule will curtail career advancement opportunities, diminish workplace flexibility, damage employee morale, and lead to a more hierarchical workplace,” the group said in its letter.

“Many employees who currently enjoy the benefits associated with salaried, exempt status may be forced to take a step back in their careers when they are converted to hourly, non-exempt status as a result of this rule.”

The federation urged Congress to block the administration from moving forward with the rule by passing the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), would require the Labor Department to thoroughly analyze the impacts of expanding overtime pay before issuing a final rule.

“These are studies that DOL should have undertaken before issuing the proposed rule and on which the public deserves an opportunity to comment,” the federation said in its letter.