ARA Signs Comment to DOL Opposing Annual Increase in Salary Threshold
Sep 04 2015
ARA signs a comment with The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) to the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). ARA and TFI oppose the proposed rule to delimit the executive, administrative, professional, outside, and computer employees (EAP) exemption. Increasing the salary threshold to the 40th percentile of earnings is a significant increase. To increase the threshold from $23,660 per year to $50,440 will have a significant impact on the small businesses that are ARA and TFI members. This increase will tighten already small margins and lead to increased consolidations in an industry that is currently seeing a number of mergers. The cost associated with this proposed rule will likely be passed along to the consumer. In our case, our members will pass the costs along to the farmers, which in turn will increase the cost of food. The increased production cost also could negatively impact American agriculture’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.
ARA and TFI also oppose the proposed automatic annual increase in the salary threshold. ARA and TFI are of the belief that the market should determine the salaries. Any automatic increase in salary thresholds is arbitrary and does not reflect market forces. Market forces are too complex to allow for an annual increase based on a simple average to accurately reflect a salary threshold.