Washington, D.C. – July 15, 2016 – The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) and the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association (ORLA) issued the following statements on the introduction of Rep. Kurt Schrader’s (OR-5) legislation H.R. 5813, the Overtime Reform and Enhancement Act. The legislation would phase-in over three years the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule, which currently would raise the overtime threshold for eligible employees by December 1, 2016 from $23,660 to $47,476. This legislation would raise the overtime threshold by 50 percent to $35,984 by the initial compliance deadline. After that, the threshold would rise by $74 per week until December, 2019, when it will reach $47,476. 

“Our industry is ripe with opportunity and has a tremendous track record of providing the training and resources our employees need to move up through the ranks to more senior positions,” said Brian Crawford, AH&LA’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “However, we are concerned that the significant increase in the salary threshold will have a profound negative impact on small and independent business owners who will face real challenges trying to implement this rule. The hotel industry applauds Representative Schrader for his leadership on this critical issue. This commonsense legislation provides employers with much-needed time to comply with the new regulation while also ensuring that our workers have up-to-date overtime rules.” 

"Representative Schrader continues to exemplify leadership qualities we need in our elected leaders," said Jason Brandt, President & CEO of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association. “His new overtime proposal represents a common sense compromise that helps protect workers and small business owners as they adjust to new marketplace realities. We hope that Congressman Schrader’s legislation can jumpstart Congressional action to lessen the blunt impact these new regulations will have on not only small businesses, but also the higher education community and employers in the non-profit sector.”

Congressman Schrader’s legislation, the Overtime Reform and Enhancement Act, follows on the heels of other legislative efforts to lessen the impact of DOL’s Overtime Regulation. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. Tim Walberg (MI-7) introduced the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act (S. 2707 and H.R. 4773), legislation that would delay implementation of the DOL’s overtime regulation until a full economic impact analysis and study could be completed. 
 

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Serving the hospitality industry for more than a century, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the 2 million-employee U.S. lodging industry, including hotel owners, REITs, chains, franchisees, management companies, independent properties, bed and breakfasts, state hotel associations, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AH&LA provides focused advocacy, communications support, and educational resources for an industry of more than 53,000 properties generating $176 billion in annual sales from 5 million guestrooms.

The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association is the leading business association for the foodservice and lodging industry in Oregon, which is comprised of over 9,000 foodservice locations and 2,200 lodging establishments with a workforce of 164,800, and a total economic impact of $8 billion - making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. The association works to advocate, protect, train and promote the foodservice and lodging industry.