On a somewhat related note, I would like to tell you MY story. In May, Obama, through Executive Order, or a Department of Labor regulation, raised the threshold for overtime pay for salaried employees from $23,600 to $47,500. I was due to be promoted in June. I am a wage employee. I was going to be salaried. Get benefits, a car, potentially bonuses. Come Obama’s pronouncement, and my promotion has been put on hold. My company is nationwide, and they have to digest the ramifications of this increase. How much will it cost? How do they track the hours? Am I worth it? (from their perspective? The promotion appears to be a dead issue. I was in line for a 20% raise. Nice.
There are 2 sides to that issue; should a company work an employee earning $23,600 80 hours per week?
I’m no socialist or communist, but we have to accept that people who feel exploited (sometimes with justification) vote, and they aren’t voting for our candidates. When companies lose lawsuits because they force employees to do work before/after their shifts (OFF the clock), those companies deserve to lose - it is wrong, and robbing those workers of wages.