Advocacy Roundtables to Examine Proposed Overtime Regulations

By Office of Advocacy On Jun 26, 2014

The Office of Advocacy is hosting two roundtable listening sessions concerning the presidential memorandum issued on March 13, 2014, directing the Department of Labor to propose revisions to modernize and streamline the existing overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The two roundtables will be held on:

Friday, July 11, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (EST); and

Friday, July 18, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (EST).

Both sessions will be held at the U.S. Small Business Administration, Eisenhower B Conference Room (concourse level), 409 Third Street, SW, Washington, DC 20416. The SBA headquarters is located at the Federal Center SW Metro stop on the Orange and Blue lines.

Dr. David Weil, Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of DOL, and Dr. Winslow Sargeant, Chief Counsel for Advocacy, will be present to listen to comments from small businesses on the potential impact of this memorandum. When DOL issues proposed regulations, there will be a formal notice and comment period during which all interested parties will have an opportunity to comment on the proposal.

Please RSVP by email if you plan to attend the meeting to: Janis.Reyes@sba.gov or Jonathan.Porat@sba.gov. Please RSVP for only ONE of the above times, as space is extremely limited. A call-in option will also be available upon request.

Background: On March 13, 2014, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum to the Department of Labor, directing the agency to modernize and streamline the existing regulations for executive, administrative and professional employees (often referred to as “white collar exemptions”). Most workers covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act receive Federal minimum wage and overtime pay. The upcoming DOL regulations may change the standards for white collar exemptions; and may increase the pay threshold (it is currently $455 a week/or $23,660 a year) and may change other requirements. This could result in more workers eligible for overtime pay. Many small businesses may be impacted in a wide variety of industries, including businesses in the retail, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, finance and technology fields.