NAA/NMHC Support Overtime Rule Relief

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The House passed the “Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools and Nonprofits Act” on Sept. 28, which would delay from Dec. 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017 the effective date for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime rule. This legislation was considered under a closed rule that prohibited any amendments. The controversial overtime rule would impact 4.2 million executive, administrative and professional employees who are paid by the hour or earn less than the threshold.

Specifically, the rule lifts the pay threshold from $23,660 to $47,476 a year. The threshold would rise automatically every three years to the 40th percentile of income in the nation's lowest-earning region.

The final rule would harm the ability of multifamily employers to implement, and their impacted employees, including property managers at traditional multifamily and student housing developments, to take advantage of flexible scheduling options. The rule would also limit career advancement opportunities for employees. In addition, the rule goes far beyond the multifamily industry and has the potential to affect employees at colleges and universities who serve student housing residents.

As we reported, officials from 21 states and a coalition of business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a pair of lawsuits on Sept. 20 challenging the overtime rule. The dual lawsuits contend that DOL exceeded its authority by finalizing such a large increase, as well as by including the automatic increase provision.

NAA/NMHC have continued to work tirelessly to overturn this rule since its initial introduction. We will hold a members-only webinar on our new backgrounder entitled “New Federal Overtime Rules and the Apartment Industry,” (member log-in required) on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. ET. The backgrounder provides details and issues for owners, operators and developers of apartment housing to consider as they seek to comply with the overtime rule.

Provided by NMHC as part of the NAA/NMHC Joint Legislative Program