Statement by ACE President Molly Corbett Broad on the Department of Labor’s FLSA Overtime Regulation
May 17, 2016

“Colleges and universities are major employers in many communities around the country, offering stable jobs with good wages and benefits to millions of individuals from many professions and walks of life. While in principle we support raising the wage threshold, today’s move by the Department of Labor will harm many higher education institutions, employees and students.

The new rule will turn many lower level, salaried employees into hourly workers who are eligible for overtime pay. But requiring such a dramatic and costly change to be implemented so quickly will leave many colleges with no choice but to respond to this regulation with a combination of tuition increases, service reductions and, possibly, layoffs.

We appreciate the department’s willingness to reconsider slightly its initial proposal to raise the threshold even higher. But negatively impacted by the new regulations are a wide array of non-faculty employees—from athletics coaches and trainers to admissions recruiters and student affairs officers—whose work is not well suited to hourly wage status and who will face diminished workplace autonomy and fewer opportunities for flexible work arrangements and career development.

We are disappointed that the department failed to address so many of the concerns raised by the entire higher education community. We will work to help our institutions understand the costs and administrative complexities of implementing these changes, even as we continue to press for improvements to the new rules.”

Media Contact
Jon Riskind
Telephone:(202) 939-9453

​Related Content

Comments on the Department of Labor's Draft Overtime Rules (321 KB PDF)
ACE joined CUPA-HR and 16 other higher education organizations in submitting comments on the proposed changes.

Fact Sheet: The Impact of Proposed Federal Overtime Rule Changes on Colleges and Universities (71 KB PDF)