#BrokenPromises Day 3 - The Overtime Rule

President-elect Trump stated during his campaign, “Under a Trump presidency, the American worker will finally have a president who will protect them and fight for them.” Committee on Education and the Workforce Democrats urge him to keep this promise to American workers by making a commitment to preserving critical workplace protections.

The Overtime Rule

Pursuant to a directive from President Obama, on May 23, 2016, the Department of Labor issued final regulations to update the salary threshold under which most full-time salaried workers are automatically eligible for overtime. The final rule would allow most workers who earn under $913 per week – or $47,476 annually – to be automatically eligible for overtime pay. This standard will cover a little over 30 percent of the full-time salaried workforce. The previous standard covered less than 10 percent of the full-time salaried workforce. The rule also automatically updates the salary threshold every three years, based on wage growth over time.

 

President-elect Trump has said that “Rolling back the overtime rule is just one example of the many regulations that need to be addressed . . .”

 

If this rule is dismantled, here’s the impact by the numbers.

 

  • $1.2 billion. Workers would lose $1.2 billion on a yearly basis.
  • 4.2 million. Estimated number of workers would lose overtime protections.
  • 8.9 million. An additional 8.9 million workers would be more vulnerable to wage theft.
  • 40 hours. Far too many workers will continue to work very long hours for no pay at all for the hours worked beyond 40 in a week.

 

#brokenpromises             #OTrule