Earlier this month, the Department of Labor proposed to update the country’s overtime pay regulations. The new proposal will expand overtime pay to 5 million salaried white-collar workers. Previously, overtime pay only applied to salaried workers who made $455 a week or less (approximately 23,660 a year), an unreasonably low salary to act as the threshold. This resulted in millions of exploited workers who worked long hours for little pay. The raised threshold, $970 a week ($50,440 a year), will help many workers achieve fair pay for the work that they do. As stated in the proposal, the threshold will also automatically update when inflation or wage growth occurs, which, in the words of the DOL, will prevent “a future erosion of overtime protection”.
“For too long, retail chains, fast food restaurants, and other employers have sought to avoid overtime by simply slapping a ‘manager’ title and a modest salary on an employee and then requiring her to work the extra overtime hours free,” explains Attorney Pete Winebrake. “This practice is simply wrong.”
Read more about the proposal on the Wage and Hour Division’s Overtime NPRM webpage.
Please give us a call at (215) 866-1551 if you would like a free and completely confidential consultation with one of our attorneys. Winebrake & Santillo has extensive experience representing workers who are paid a salary and do not receive proper overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a week.