I have done everything I could. I wrote my Congressional Representatives.* I wrote essays. I posted to online forums. I told anybody who would listen to me. It is now officially too late to prevent new overtime rules from going into effect.
There is a lot of disagreement over the number of people who would gain or lose overtime eligibility. The Labor Department and the Bush Administration both insist that more people would gain than lose, and that as pure bonus there would be fewer lawsuits. Pretty much everybody else says the opposite. Some states already have laws which supersede the Department of Labor guidelines.
Most regular readers know my opinion: that such rules will mean fewer people get overtime because the administration is unashamedly pro-business (there is no reason to suppose this proposal is a departure); that under these rules there is disincentive to create new jobs because it is cheaper to work existing employees harder than to hire more people; and that most people are not in a financial position to protest beyond a letter to Congress or a passive-aggressive “sick day”.
One thing is for sure. In a few weeks everyone will get paychecks reflecting implementation of the new rules. Look at your pay-stubs carefully before voting on November 2, 2004. Better yet, send away for your absentee ballot today. Not only will your vote have a paper trail, but you won’t have to worry about getting out of the office early enough to make it to your polling place.
One reply:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Bush Administration’s overtime proposal. I am pleased to inform you that on Tuesday, May 4, the Senate approved an amendment by Senator Harkin that would block the Department of Labor from implementing any rule that would disqualify workers from overtime pay who are currently eligible under current law. At the same time, the amendment allows the implementation of new rules that would increase the number of low-wage workers who would be eligible for overtime pay.
Another reply:
I am strongly opposed to the Department of Labor’s roposed rule changes. These rules will drastically reduce the number of workers who are eligible for overtime and compensatory time. I am outraged that the Administration is willing to cut overtime pay for nearly 8 million Americans, many of whom depend on it to make ends meet. This includes nurses, emergency medical technicians, police officers, firefighters, secretaries, sales representatives, surveyors, journalists, paralegals, retail managers, dental hygienists, and many others. I am leading the fight in the Senate against these mean-spirited changes.
Actually, since this just changes the rules businesses can use, I’d expect many businesses may decide to wait until after the election to ‘decide’ which employees are no longer eligible for overtime. No point in making the plebes angry just before the big vote.