Editor,

The following is an important message to each member of our community, both business owner and employee alike, regarding the proposed regulations requested by the president regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act and the payment of overtime.

The Department of Labor has given a window of opportunity for the public to respond to the proposed regulations by Sept. 4 and, as a result, I would like to encourage each of you to read this and send a similar letter to the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. and to our state and federal representatives no later than Sept. 4.

I am a human resources professional and I am concerned about the impact that changes to the overtime regulations will have on my organization and employees, as well as other employers in our city, county, state and nation.

While I understand the need to update the salary threshold, rapidly increasing it by 113 percent and setting it at the 40th percentile of weekly earnings for salaried workers, in addition to annually updating the salary threshold, will have a significant impact on the labor costs for my organization and will decrease workplace flexibility options for my employees.

I am specifically concerned how the increase to the salary threshold will impact nonprofit employers, small businesses, and employers in lower cost of living areas in the country.

I am also concerned that the proposed rule does not explain what the Department of Labor is planning with regard to the duties test.

We have invested a significant amount of time to understand and apply the current duties tests.

Any changes will result in many hours spent to understand the new rules and will likely result in inaccurate classifications. In addition, a California-style duties test based on the percentage of time spent on exempt versus non-exempt duties will be overly burdensome to track and is unworkable in many workplaces today where otherwise exempt employees must also conduct nonexempt activities.

Because the salary level and the duties tests work together, it is impossible for me to discuss the impact of potential changes without knowing what the DOL might propose with regard to duties.

If you are a business owner, you should consider what number or percent of your employees will be affected?

How much will this proposed rule cost your organization?

How does the new salary threshold impact your industry? Your geographic region?

What concerns do you have about automatic yearly updates to the salary threshold?

What changes you foresee to workplace flexibility when an employee is re-classified from exempt to non-exempt?

Any specific concerns about changes to the duties test?

How would your organization be impacted if employees were no longer able to conduct exempt and non-exempt activities concurrently?

How will this impact your organization’s ability to develop employees and allow for career advancement for newly classified non-exempt employees?

Please take my concerns into consideration and engage your elected officials in this discussion and reach out to the Department of Labor making your voice heard.

The Whidbey News-Times frequently publishes the contact information for our elected officials.

Cheryl Lawler

Oak Harbor