President Obama Seeks Expansion of Overtime Pay

President Obama has announced that he will be seeking a broad expansion of overtime pay. The president will be ordering the Department of Labor to require that businesses pay more overtime to the millions of workers who clock in more than 40 hours a week.

Workers such as a fast-food managers, loan officers, computer technicians and others classified as executive or professional employees will now receive overtime pay. Approximately 130 million workers across the nation are affected by the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under this act businesses can’t deny overtime to salaried workers who make less than $455 a week, however, this move by the president will raise the salary threshold.

Although the expansion will likely make low-wage workers happy, some labor experts believe that companies could begin to hold back on hiring or cut their workers hours to remain under the full-time threshold. Additionally, it could make standards of pay negotiations much more difficult and might even result in fewer raises.

Changes to the regulations will be subject to public comment before they are approved by the Labor Department.

The move comes just one month after President Obama signed an executive order raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for new federal contract workers.

If you believe that your overtime rights have been violated, contact a Phoenix employment lawyer at Phillips Law Group by calling 1-800-706-3000 to determine what your legal rights are. Our attorneys are ready to fight for your right to overtime pay.