Joint Comments to DOL on the Proposed Overtime Rule

Dear Ms. DeBisschop:

The Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity ("PPWO") submits these comments on the Department of Labor ("DOL" or "the Department")'s proposal to raise the salary threshold for the executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employee exemptions (the "EAP exemption") from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") (the "Proposed Rule"). The PPWO is a coalition of a diverse group of associations and other stakeholders representing employers from the private, nonprofit, and public sector with millions of "white collar" employees across the country in almost every industry who will be affected by the proposed changes.

The PPWO’s members believe that employees and employers alike are best served with a system that promotes maximum flexibility in structuring employee hours, career advancement opportunities for employees, and clarity for employers in classifying their employees under the FLSA. Unfortunately, as we describe below, if implemented as written, the Proposed Rule will result in large numbers of employees being reclassified as non-exempt, with significant consequences for both the reclassified employees and their employers. By way of example, the PPWO is deeply concerned that such reclassification will:

• Harm the ability of employers to provide, and employees to take advantage of, remote work and flexible scheduling options which have become increasingly popular since being introduced during the pandemic and also help alleviate the growing childcare crisis;
• Limit career advancement opportunities for employees;
• Reduce employee access to a variety of additional benefits, including incentive pay;
• Limit employers' ability to provide employees with mobile devices and remote electronic access, further limiting employee flexibility;
• Result in employees in the same job classification (for the same employer) being classified and treated differently based on regional cost-of-living differences, facility profitability, or other factors that impact budget;
• Force employees to be reassigned or let go as employers make operational changes needed to achieve the organization’s mission under new pay and staffing paradigms;
• Trigger declines in employee morale, particularly in cases where peers remain exempt since exempt status is often seen as a higher status;
• Increase FLSA litigation based on off-the-clock and regular rate of pay claims; and
• Introduce other legal and operational issues, such as increased administrative costs.

Download the joint comment letter to read the full text.