Under a new proposed rule by the United States Department of Labor, all employees making under $1,059 per week in the United States would be eligible for overtime pay. If adopted, this would potentially give an additional three million employees eligibility for overtime, when they would otherwise be excluded. This helps to close certain loopholes that employers have used to keep employees from earning overtime they might otherwise be entitled to.
What is This New Overtime Rule?
Under the new proposed rule, every employee making less than $1,059 per week (or about $55,000 per year) would be eligible for overtime pay, regardless of any other exceptions they may fall under. The rule would also establish a standard to update the salary threshold without need for further rulemaking. It would also extend overtime protections to people living in U.S. territories outside of the 50 states, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, who were previously exempted from those protections.
Why is the New Overtime Rule Being Passed?
This is meant to address loopholes in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which dictates which employees are eligible for overtime pay. In particular, it is made to help lower-paid salaried employees who are currently exempted from earning overtime, when they would otherwise be entitled to additional pay if they worked an hourly wage. These workers have been cheated out of additional pay thanks to outdated rules that do not give salaried workers the same protections as hourly workers.
Who Will Benefit From the New Overtime Rule?
This will help approximately three million workers who currently do not earn overtime pay due to being exempted from current rules governing the application of the NLRA. In some cases, employers will deliberately hire certain employees as salaried rather than hourly workers to specifically exclude them from being able to earn overtime. These people will no longer be forced to work more than 40 hours per week without appropriate compensation.
How Could This Affect You?
If you are one of the three million people in the United States who falls into this category, you could see a substantial increase in your pay if you work more than 40 hours a week or more than eight hours in a day. Every employee should be fairly compensated for their work, and this goes towards ensuring that happens. However, if you find yourself struggling to obtain the compensation you have rightly earned, you should speak to a lawyer with experience handling employment and labor law issues.
Steven Mitchell Sack, the Employee’s Lawyer, is a New York employment lawyer with more than 42 years’ experience handling the many aspects of employment law. His new book, “Fired!: Protect Your Rights & FIGHT BACK If You’re Terminated, Laid Off, Downsized, Restructured, Forced to Resign or Quit,” is available in hardback, and contains valuable advice on dealing with employment and labor law issues. To purchase the book, feel free to contact Steven Sack at 917-371-8000 or visit the website at legalstratpub.com. To inquire about a legal matter, please feel free to contact attorney Steven Sack at 917-371-8000 or stevensackatty@hotmail.com.
