Attorney Steven Mitchell Sack, “The Employee’s Lawyer,” says a new workplace regulation proposed by President Barack Obama to automatically qualify workers for overtime pay would mean those who work more than 40 hours a week will be fairly compensated.
On June 29, President Obama announced a rule change that would raise the salary threshold from $23,660 a year to $50,440 a year for workers to be eligible to be paid time-and-a-half, beginning in 2016. This would affect approximately 5 million workers in the U.S.
The Obama administration notes that in 1975 sixty-two percent of full-time salaried workers were eligible for overtime pay, but, since then, the percentage has dropped due to inflation. In addition, the overtime regulations have only been updated twice in the last 40 years. The last time that occurred was in 2004.
“It is necessary for companies to pay its workers the wages they deserve and the proposed overtime law is a great start,” Mr. Sack said. “It is not right for someone who works 50 to 60 hours a week to receive a paycheck for 40 hours of work. By paying them time-and-a-half, they will take home more money and will have less to worry about trying to stay afloat financially.”
Mr. Sack is available to comment further on the subject.
