New overtime rules take effect

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 23 Aug 2004 15:35

Controversial new US Department of Labor regulations regarding eligibility for overtime pay—the first overhaul of overtime rules in more than 50 years—take effect today.

The new rules redefine the eligibility of many administrative, professional and managerial workers to qualify for overtime pay.

According to the US Department of Labor, workers earning less than $23,660 per year—or $455 per week—are guaranteed overtime protection, which it says will strengthen overtime rights for 6.7 million American workers, including 1.3 million low-wage workers who were denied overtime under the old rules. No more than 107,000 workers will lose their overtime eligibility, says the Department.

The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank, has predicted that some six million workers will lose their overtime eligibility.

Several Democrats, notably US Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), have tried repeatedly to pass legislation rolling back the new regulations. Harkin was narrowly successful recently in attaching a rollback amendment to the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act, which is currently under consideration in the US House of Representatives.

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