MRM EXCLUSIVE: What the Election Means for Your Restaurant and the People You Employ

Perhaps the single most comprehensive tool a U.S. president has to affect the day-to-day operations of business owners is through agency regulation. Whether by regulatory expansion or contraction, presidents of widely varying political persuasions have utilized agencies to promote their economic agendas, and the 2016 candidates appear likely to continue the tradition. The two major party candidates have, unsurprisingly, struck conflicting stances on the issue.

In order to understand the significance of the candidates’ approaches to regulations, a quick look at what is arguably the most significant economic regulation coming down the pike in 2016 is worth examining first.

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed the idea of expanding overtime accessibility to about 4.5 million previously ineligible Americans. While this proposal would apply across nearly all industries in the U.S., the restaurant industry might be particularly affected at the mid-tier, management level…