I clicked on it on Facebook and it let me read it. Here it is with commentary:
Some five million American workers will be newly eligible for overtime pay as early as next year. To get that pay, those managers, supervisors, data analysts and others may have to do something they haven’t done in years, if ever: punch a clock.
The proposed expansion of overtime rules put forth by the Obama administration has sent employers rushing to reallocate work and sketch out the costs. 
It has also posed a dilemma for managers, who say asking a new group of employees to clock in could change work in subtle yet profound ways, making some workers feel they are being pushed to a lower rung of the office caste system.
Yoking employees to the clock flies in the face of modern management theory, much of which holds that flexibility and autonomy are crucial for a high-performing workforce. Historically, clocking in has been the province of workers in blue-collar and service roles, while managerial, professional and white-collar workers have been free to manage their time as they need—one of the perks of moving up the corporate ladder. The new rules could change all that, experts say.
“For a lot of people, the difference between hourly or salaried is the difference between a job and a career,” says Nancy Hammer, senior government affairs policy counsel at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) an HR professional group.
Under the proposed Department of Labor regulations, salaried workers earning less than $50,440 will be eligible for overtime pay. The rules would more than double the previous salary threshold for overtime-eligible workers, sweeping in some managers and supervisors. A Department of Labor spokesman declined to comment on when the rules would be completed or implemented.
Employers like Dollar Tree Inc. have argued against the rules, saying the shift would strip employees of status and flexibility. Some employees say they resent losing control of their time. ("some employees")
Workers who have had to start tracking their hours say the change felt like a step down—even when time-and-a-half pay fattened their wallets.
Jeff Berman, a data analyst at the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, a trade association for community hospitals, may be among those tracking hours if the proposed regulations go through.
While he stands to earn more, he says, “it just doesn’t feel as professional [if] I have to punch a clock.” (lol)
A survey of 413 SHRM members found that 67% of respondents said that employees would have decreased autonomy and flexibility and
70% said their firms would likely offer fewer opportunities than before to work overtime, because of cost concerns. Some 900 SHRM members have submitted comments to the Labor Department objecting to the proposals.
Extra pay may allay those objections, although many employers are expected to limit overtime hours to save costs, or shift some work onto others. U.S. employers spend an average of $540.80 per employee on overtime each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“It kind of felt like a demotion” when Shaun Pilcher, a paralegal, had to start clocking in more than a decade ago. Mr. Pilcher, who works for Goldberg Segalla in White Plains, N.Y, now records his time in, time out and lunch breaks on a computer system.
“It’s nice to know that if you have to stay late, you’re being paid for those hours that you’re working,” he says.
Bosses, too, worry the time clock may weigh on staff morale.
In 2009, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer reclassified some plant supervisors from salaried to hourly when they were asked to go back on the production line. Longtime employees felt disappointment at having to punch back in, according to a human resources official at the company.
“It was a heartbreak for them. They felt like they had been working too long and too hard to now have to go back and clock in and out,” the official says, adding that she is concerned the proposed new regulations will have a similar impact for some of the firm’s current employees. (lol okay mister/miss "HR official")
Hourly workers place a higher value on their time than salaried workers do, says Sanford DeVoe, an associate professor of management and organizations at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, who studies how workers perceive time. Hourly workers are more likely than salaried ones to jump at extra duties if they will be paid more.
However, hourly workers are less likely to take unpaid breaks or do other tasks free, because they equate time with money, he says.
Tom Stanton, chief executive of Huntsville, Ala.-based Adtran Inc., says he wants his employees to view their roles as more than mere jobs, and go the extra mile when the telecommunications company needs them. (how about you eat my asshole instead retard)
So, rather than asking them to record all their hours, he plans to ask newly overtime-eligible workers to keep tabs on when they are working more than 40 hours and report it to their managers on an honor system.
“To me, that’s an empowering thing if you’re not sitting there punching a clock,” he says. “Someone’s not looking over to see every move you make.”
