Published in the March 2019 issue of Washington Update
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that would make more workers eligible for overtime.
Under currently enforced law, employees with a salary below $455 per week ($23,660 annually) must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. Workers making at least this salary level may be eligible for overtime based on their job duties. This salary level was set in 2004.
This proposal would boost the proposed standard salary level to $679 per week (equivalent to $35,308 per year). Above this salary level, eligibility for overtime varies based on job duties.
This proposal is less aggressive than an overtime rule proposed in 2016 during the Obama administration. That plan would have mandated overtime pay for those earning less than about $47,000 but was ultimately invalidated by a federal court in Texas.
The proposed rule has a 60 day public comment period.
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