Obama's New Overtime Rules Cause Concern
obama new overtime rules
Today President Obama announced anyone earning over $47,000 a year will be required to receive overtime pay. That's up from $23,000. Some say the new rules mean trouble for workers.
Lizzy Simmons is with the National Retail Federation. She says to offset the costs of the new rules, businesses will be forced to reclassify managers and supervisors from having salaried positions to working for an hourly wage. And that means they will loose benefits.
"They enjoy their jobs; they are happy," said Simmons. "Many of them earn store performance based bonuses. And if you're converting someone from their salaried exempt statuses to hourly non exempt, these benefits will probably be a thing of the past."
Simmons says businesses are working out of the same pool of money, and won't be able to adjust without demotions. But President Obama feels differently. He says the new rules will strengthen the Middle Class, and allow workers to earn millions more in wages.
