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White House pushing for more people to earn overtime
FOX 26 Business Reporter Tom Zizka has more on the proposal, but some businesses say they're not so sure about the measure.
HOUSTON - Paychecks could 'grow' for millions of salaried workers, who work a lot of hours, under a new proposal from the Biden administration.
The idea of overtime first emerged in 1938, with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Over the years, the level of exemption for so-called 'white collar' salaried workers has been adjusted up. It last happened in 2019, when workers earning less than $35,000 were eligible for overtime pay. The White House wants to adjust that figure up, considerably.
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Traditionally, it's hourly workers who clock more than 40 hours a week who earn overtime pay. Executive, administrative, and professional positions, so-called 'white collars jobs', earning more than $35,000, annually, do not.
The Labor Department proposal is to boost that threshold to $55,000, with automatic increases every three years, is a compromise against labor advocates who want much more. It would guarantee overtime pay for 3.6 million workers.
"I think long-term, hopefully, folks will realize again that this is what’s best for everybody and that if we want to raise the standard of living in the United States of America. This is important for folks," says Bernie Burnham of the AFL-CIO.
President Biden's proposal is a return for one made during his time in the Obama administration, that was resisted by business interests, and struck down by a federal judge. Advocates expect another battle.
"You're going to see the Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation; you're going to see all the lobbyists on K Street, who are going to get paid so many tens and tens of millions of dollars to lobby against this," says labor and employment attorney Andy Trusevich.
It's already happening.
In a statement, the National Retail Federation says it is reviewing the impact, saying. "...the proposed number is significantly higher than the rate of inflation. Further, the attempt to tie the hands of future administrations through automatic increases exceeds the Department's authority."
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The proposal now enters a 60-day comment period, where voices from both sides will make their arguments. One effect, seen the last time the threshold was raised, beyond more people earning overtime, is that others saw their salary go up to keep them above the new threshold.