Major changes to federal overtime regulations announced by the Department of Labor on May 18 will benefit millions of low- and middle-income workers.  Advocates celebrated these changes, which will take effect on December 1 of this year. The updated regulations increase the salary threshold a worker must be paid before they can be considered exempt from overtime pay, from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per year. The new rule also automatically updates this salary threshold every three years to account for inflation and provides greater clarity for workers and employers over who is covered. Advocates believe the new rule will be better for the economy and may create new jobs, in addition to giving millions of workers more money and/or more free time.
In response, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on June 9 where they heard from several witnesses opposed to the rule. The Democratic witness, Jared Bernstein from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, had previously called the rules the Obama Administration’s “most significant action on behalf of middle-class paychecks.” The Economic Policy Institute also put out a piece dispelling the myth that nonprofits will be harmed by the changes. For more information and additional resources from affiliates, see this post on CHN’s blog, Voices for Human Needs.

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