More Frustration Expressed By Employers At Overtime Seminar; Law Change Viewed As Harsh For Seasonal Businesses

OCEAN CITY – Agitation among local business owners is growing in regards to new overtime laws that take effect Dec. 1.

In a meeting with the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation attorney David Stevens Wednesday morning, a large crowd of business owners and officials voiced questions and concerns about the local economy’s ability to shoulder the financial changes.

Currently, white collar salaried workers, like those with executive, administrative and professional duties, making more than $455 a week, are not eligible for overtime pay. This threshold will soon increase to $913 weekly.

Any of the 4.2 million U.S. citizens now eligible for overtime pay will receive time-and-a-half for any work that exceeds the 40-hour work week.

Some business owners in the meeting argued that these new laws are not reasonable for the seasonal resort town.

“I believe everyone in this room tries very hard to pay their employees correctly and there may be a few exceptions,” BJ’s on the Water owner Maddy Carder said. “But for this to happen without any say, as usual, in a small business person’s life is just like everything else that the government passes. To heck with the little guy. This country was founded on small businesses, and God bless [the government] is trying their best to get rid of them.”

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