Fight Over Wage and Hour Exemption Regulations Heating Up

Senator Charles Schumer (D - NY) is the latest to weigh in against the proposed regulations that would modernize the white collar exemptions. The Newsday article reports on Schumer's view of the impact on New York workers. The DOL has disputed his view as inaccurate and SHRM continues to voice its strong approval. Although some Republican congressional members have expressed discomfort with the proposals, it seems unlikely that there will be enough to make the DOL back off unless it really becomes a hot political issue. Still one would have thought that a Republican Congress would have been able to move forward with compensatory time off for private sector employers, but that proved unmanageable, so employers should not count the reforms as a given, even though they make sense.