Last Friday, comments opposing the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime overhaul proposal were submitted by the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity (PPWO), which included NRMCA. The comments, signed onto by NRMCA and over 130 other industry groups stated, "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 when classifying employees. Unfortunately... if implemented as proposed, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal would result in large numbers of employees being reclassified as non-exempt." The comments continued by asking that DOL withdraw its flawed proposal.

As stated in the PPWO comments, in its current form, the DOL’s proposal "fails to account for regional, economic and market differences... will negatively impact the ability of employees to work in part-time capacities... [and] will negatively impact employee compensation, flexibility and morale." Furthermore, the proposal should phase in any salary increases over time, should not adopt any automatic increases and should not increase the "highly compensated employee" salary minimum. As well, the PPWO sums up the comments, in part, by urging the DOL to "not make revisions to the duties test" and that DOL’s economic analysis is flawed.