Dive Brief:
- TSheets, a time tracking firm, surveyed 500 business owners on what they think will happen to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime rule. The Labor Department won an expedited review of the rule from a federal appeals court. Most of the respondents (40%) said they don't know what will happen to the rule, while 25% said they believe it will be revised.
- A significant number of respondents (29%) think that President-elect Donald Trump will permanently block or water down the rule, and prevent overtime from being extended to 4 million U.S. workers.
- Just 5.2% of business owners believe the overtime rule will be enacted in full, which may explain much of the regulatory confusion surrounding the rule.
Dive Insight:
The respondents in the survey who think Trump will put an end to the rule might be right. Trump has vowed to overturn rules and executive orders issued under the Obama administration, and the highly controversial overtime rule is likely one of their next targets.
A federal appeals court granted the Labor Department an expedited review of the overtime rule's case, but the case will not continue until after Trump assumes the office — meaning his admin's DOL could easily drop the appeal. However, during the election, Trump did not signal he wanted to end the rule completely and instead wanted exemptions for small businesses and other revisions to the rule. Until more word is given, the rule will continue in limbo.
