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“When I was young I spent some time in management in the retail industry. They would routinely work you 60 hours/week on salary”

The same thing happened to me when I worked in Hotels as a Front Desk manager. Not only would the manager give me piles of work beyond my job description but I was at the mercy of the regular desk clerks. If Belinda the single mothers 4th baby was sick guess who got to work her shift? When John the doper was arrested for DUI who had to work the shift? The minimum wage clerks had more freedom than I did

A lot of people here will criticize anything that Obama or the Dems do, but as the old saying goes, even a broken clock is right twice a day. In the case of this rule, it is actually a good thing.

Example 1: The company that I work for would routinely hire kids out of college at near poverty wages and demand at least 95% chargeability of time to clients. You were required to be in the office from 8-5 every day, but if you were not on a chargeable engagement, then when you DID get one, you had to work a ton of overtime to get up to the number of chargeable hours required. This rule would kill that practice, which means either the rule about having to be at work 8-5 regardless would get dropped, or the % chargeability rule would get dropped. Either way, the employee will benefit.

Example 2: My daughter went to work for Enterprise Rent-a-car, and they hire kids to be "Management Trainee's" and give them a low salary, but then schedule them for a minimum of 51 hours/week. This 50+ hour work week schedule is the expectation ad infinitum. She left after 3 years, and never worked a 40 hour week, nor had her fiancé who also used to work there.

The fact of the matter is, salary should not mean that you have become an indentured servant. Work-life balance is important, and putting rules in place to prevent companies from abusing their staff by making them salaried just so that they can overwork them is a good thing.

A big problem for companies is the secret is out and nobody wants the “manager” titles anymore. I tell co-workers foolish enough to still chase that they should be careful what they wish for: They’ll just be worked longer hours for what amounts to a lower hourly wage (and any work/life balance is shot).