Millions of US workers delivered overtime pay by Obama administration

In the final few months of his tenure, President Obama has introduced one of his most ambitious economic reforms of his presidency. The US administration have introduced a new policy which has increased the salary threshold for which works are entitled to overtime pay. They are raising the threshold from $23,660 to $47,746. This means that 4.2 million workers earning between $23,660 to $47,746 are now entitled to time and a half pay when they work over 40 hours per week. The Labor Secretary has signalled that the reform is addressing both “underpay and overwork”. At International Tax Search, we believe this reform is a step in the right direction to protect the interests of workers. That said, we are interested to see whether these reforms mean firms hire more professionals under normal pay so as to avoid providing current workers with overtime.

The article states:

Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of EPI, said the final rule does a “great job” of addressing two issues for the middle class: “the need for more time and the need for more money.”

“Overworked and underpaid managers, postdoctoral researchers, social workers, insurance claims workers, and many others will have their lives improved one way or another by this rule,” said Eisenbrey, who was one of the most vocal voices for the reform. “It’s great to see the government doing something significant to help the struggling middle class.”

EPI estimates that the effects could be greater than the White House anticipates. The group projects that 12.5 million workers will “directly benefit” from the new rules — slightly more than half of them women, and a disproportionate share of them African-American and Hispanic. The biggest effects will be felt in the South, where a larger share of workers are carved out of protections under the current rules.

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Obama Is Bringing Overtime Pay To Millions Of Workers