Trump To End Overtime Pay Rule For Workers
The Trump administration is officially going forward with its plans to roll back a new rule implemented by President Obama that would extend mandatory overtime pay to 4.2 million workers around the country.
The U.S. Department of Labor asked for public comments, which is the first step in revoking or revising the rule.
If implemented, the rule will double the maximum salary a worker can earn and still be eligible to receive overtime pay from employers.
Rather than let it go straight into effect, the Trump administration is first asking for feedback on why it should be raised from the current threshold of $23,660 set in 2004, and if it should even be adjusted for inflation.
Workers rights groups say the rule is necessary because employers are giving employees low-salaries with high work hour demands (sometimes 60 hours a week) in an attempt to run around overtime laws meant to protect workers.
When announcing this proposal last summer, Obama said:
“This is an issue of basic fairness. If you work longer and harder, you deserve to be paid for it.”
Trump’s labor department has already hinted that they are considering eliminating the salary threshold entirely, which would mean that workers could be paid lower salaries for the same amount of work.
“Working people should not have to wait another day for the government to be on their side,” Christine Owens, executive director of the union-backed National Employment Law Project, said in a statement on Tuesday.
One of the main reasons the Trump administration is stalling is due to an appeal currently taking place in federal court. They are waiting to see what ruling is announced.
Posted July 25, 2017
On the Labor Department’s Regrettable Move to Revisit the Overtime Rule
National Employment Law Project:
Washington, DC—Following is a statement from Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project:
“The Labor Department’s decision to revisit and likely revise the overtime rule is a slap in the face to millions of workers all across America who have waited long enough to be paid fairly for their overtime hours.
“Taking away overtime pay is no way to make America great again or benefit working people, as the president had promised in his inaugural address. It’s just another giveaway to big corporations and their lobbyists and CEOs.
“Working people should not have to wait another day for government to be on their side. We call on the Labor Department and the White House to move ahead to implement the existing overtime pay rule, which was released after two years of extensive stakeholder engagement, including nearly 300,000 public comments, the vast majority of which were favorable to the proposed rule.
“The rule helps ensure that 12.5 million more Americans are protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s guarantee of time-and-a-half overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week.
“By raising the exempt salary threshold to $47,476—up from a meager $23,660—the rule extends coverage to one-third of salaried workers, a substantial increase from the mere eight percent who are covered today.
“Seriously, just do the right thing for America’s workers.”
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