Millions more workers would be entitled to overtime pay under a proposed Biden administration rule
The Biden administration is proposing a new rule that would make 3.6 million more U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay, reviving an Obama-era policy effort that was ultimately scuttled in court
NEW YORK — The Biden administration will propose a new rule Tuesday that would make 3.6 million more U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay, reviving an Obama-era policy effort that was ultimately scuttled in court.
The new rule, shared with The Associated Press ahead of the announcement, would require employers to pay overtime to so-called white collar workers who make less than $55,000 a year. That's up from the current threshold of $35,568 which has been in place since 2019 when Trump administration raised it from $23,660. In another significant change, the rule proposes automatic increases to the salary level each year.
Labor advocates and liberal lawmakers have long pushed a strong expansion of overtime protections, which have sharply eroded over the past decades due to wage stagnation and inflation. The new rule, which is subject to a publicly commentary period and wouldn't take effect for months, would have the biggest impact on retail, food, hospitality, manufacturing and other industries where many managerial employees meet the new threshold.
“I’ve heard from workers again and again about working long hours, for no extra pay, all while earning low salaries that don’t come anywhere close to compensating them for their sacrifices,” Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said in a statement.
The new rule could face pushback from business groups that mounted a successful legal challenge against similar regulation that Biden announced as vice president during the Obama administration, when he sought to raise the threshold to
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