Everything You Want to Know About the New Overtime Rules in 3:44

You have to hand it to the Department of Labor. It has gotten creative to spread its message to American workers about the pending changes to the overtime rules.

Last week, the DOL published to its blog a short YouTube video titled, White Board Explainer: What is overtime? It’s wage-and-hour Schoolhouse Rock, minus the catchy tunes.

Employers are fighting an uphill battle on this issue. A populist message that promises more pay for more people + a slick informational campaign = an issue that employers cannot win.

But, do employers want to win this issue? As I pointed out two weeks ago, as a practical matter employers can control whether these new overtime rules actually result in increased pay. Yet, fighting this issue will play into the hands of labor unions that they are needed to increase worker pay and to generally fight for their workplace rights. Employers need to be very wary of the unintended consequence of empowering unions, and act accordingly.