So long telecommuting: Obama overtime rules squash flexibility

New regulations for overtime pay limit flexibility and will affect women and millennials hardest of all workers.

The good intentions of the rule revision to ensure workers are properly classified and earn their due compensation will do little to improve their position.

“Studies have shown that raising the overtime pay ceiling will generally not raise workers’ overall compensation. Instead, employers will pay a lower base salary, so that with overtime, the pay packet is about the same,” Diana Furchtgott-Roth wrote for Economics 21.

Economists aren’t concerned about job losses from the new rule, but wage reductions for new workers could take effect to balance out any wage changes.

The rules will double the salary level ceiling where employers are required to pay workers overtime to $50,440, and will be released by mid-May. The rules clamp down on flexibility because it requires monetary compensation. That prevents workers from working more hours on some days for time off on others. The rules will effectively eliminate flexibility for family duties and other important non-work events throughout the day.