Trump Wants to END Overtime Pay Rule
Currently, the overtime pay laws (implemented by the Obama Administration) are an employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work. Employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek of at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay. The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime hours are worked on such days.
The FLSA, with some exceptions, requires bonus payments to be included as part of an employee’s regular rate of pay in computing overtime.
Extra pay for working weekends or nights is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee (or the employee’s representative). The FLSA does not require extra pay for weekend or night work or double time pay.
Of course as many of you are aware… The Trump administration has been trying to overturn EVERYTHING the Obama administration implemented and they are officially going forward with its plans to roll back a new rule implemented by President Obama that would extend mandatory overtime pay to 4.2 million workers around the country. The U.S. Department of Labor asked for public comments, which is the first step in revoking or revising the rule. The rule, which was supposed to take effect in December 2016 but was blocked by a federal judge, is a top target for business groups that say it would force employers to convert many salaried employees into hourly workers.
If implemented, the rule will double the maximum salary a worker can earn and still be eligible to receive overtime pay from employers.
Rather than let it go straight into effect, the Trump administration is first asking for feedback on why it should be raised from the current threshold of $23,660 set in 2004, and if it should even be adjusted for inflation.
Workers rights groups say the rule is necessary because employers are giving employees low-salaries with high work hour demands (sometimes 60 hours a week) in an attempt to run around overtime laws meant to protect workers.
When announcing this proposal last summer, Obama said: “This is an issue of basic fairness. If you work longer and harder, you deserve to be paid for it.”
Trump’s labor department has already hinted that they are considering eliminating the salary threshold entirely, which would mean that workers could be paid lower salaries for the same amount of work.
“Working people should not have to wait another day for the government to be on their side,” Christine Owens, executive director of the union-backed National Employment Law Project, said in a statement on Tuesday.
One of the main reasons the Trump administration is stalling is due to an appeal currently taking place in federal court. They are waiting to see what ruling is announced.
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