Posted on 06/30/2015 2:14:58 AM PDT by markomalley
President Obama will expand eligibility for overtime pay to workers who earn up to $50,440 annually by 2016, according to multiple media reports based on comments from White House officials.
The new Department of Labor overtime rule, long anticipated by labor groups and business associations, will more than double the income cutoff for overtime from the current $23,660, making millions of workers eligible for added pay.
The rule, the news of which was first reported by Bloomberg news Monday night, would mandate overtime pay for salaried workers if they work more than 40 hours a week. It would exempt anyone making more than $970 a week, which translates to $50,400 annually. It would also exclude certain classes of high-skilled workers.
An updated and expanded overtime rule would be a victory for labor groups.
Businesses, however, have warned that it would hurt employment or force managers to turn to hourly-paid workers.
Republicans are opposed to expanding the overtime rule, and will likely seek to block the rule once it is proposed.
Unless I’m confused,which is quite possible, the $50k test simply returns the cutoff to where it was in 1975, adjusted for inflation.
We can argue about whether there should be any such rules, but not that this is some sort of drastic innovation.
BTW, I’ve worked my whole life in industries where ignoring or working around overtime laws is extremely common.
Who hate labor.
It’s drastic as it will kill salaried employment. It only exists as a wedge issue for 2016. The fight will be over the middle class and Democrats have already long ago carved out the space for themselves.
In 1959, DOL again amended the white collar regulations, following a report and recommendations by Presiding Officer Harry Kantor, written in March 1958. Kantor determined that the salary tests should be set “at about the levels at which no more than about 10 percent of those in the lowest-wage region, or in the smallest-size establishment group, or in the smallest-sized city group, or in the lowest-wage industry of each of the categories would fail to meet the tests.” These levels worked out to $80 per week for executives and $95 per week for administrative and professional employees. To keep the previous ratio to the long test, Kantor recommended a short-test salary of $125 per week, or $862 in 2012 dollars.
I have no dog in this fight, but I think it's stupid to portray an attempt to return to roughly 1958 criteria as some sort of radical innovation.
http://www.epi.org/publication/inflation-adjusted-salary-test-bring-needed/
The original intent of the law was to exempt "high salary" employees. I assume nobody will argue that $23k doesn't constitute a high salary.
I can assure you that the rules are widely abused.
$862/week doesn’t equal a $23K annual salary. Check the median annual salary and get back to me. The change is radical and will result in further eroding the middle class.
The purpose isn’t to help anyone or make certain ‘labor rules’ are followed strictly. It’s to create a political wedge issue for the election. Anyone making $50,399.00 is included and overtime issues should be between the employer and the employee.
My girlfriend was made to “clock out” on her 10s , even though it’s the law in my state that employers must pay for 2 10 minute breaks in an 8 hour shift.
Or she would sometimes have to work till 15 minutes after. But if she clocked off at anything below 15 after. She wouldn’t be paid those x amount of minutes where x is 1-14.
Employers don’t care. Because if you sue an employer for violating wage laws, you’ll never work again because it’s on your background check. If you file a complaint with any business or employee bureaus they will investigate and straight up DROP YOUR NAME! It’s INSANE!
FREE MONEY!!! What’s not to love...
What? I’m being laid off???
King Obama, the job killer.
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