ARLINGTON, Va.—NAFCU is raising concerns about potential unintended consequences from the Labor Department’s overtime proposal in a letter to the leaders of the Senate Small Business Committee.
In advance of the committee’s hearing today on the proposed rule, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt noted NAFCU’s issues with how credit unions might be disproportionately burdened by the rule.
“We are concerned that the effect of more than doubling the minimum overtime exempt salary would be to disproportionately burden credit unions in underserved and non-urban communities,” Hunt wrote. “Additionally, NAFCU has concerns that the DOL’s proposal fails to adequately consider the needs of small businesses, including credit unions around the country which operate with extremely low financial margins in a highly competitive service-driven marketplace.”
The Labor Department proposal, issued last summer, would allow certain full-time, salaried workers making less than $50,440 annually to be eligible for overtime.
NAFCU supports fair overtime rules, but it is concerned that a one-size-fits-all approach puts many small credit unions in a difficult position, particularly regarding employers’ ability to offer non-salary-based advancement opportunities such as travel and training.