Excerpt
SUMMARY: President Obama is calling for a substantial expansion of who’s eligible to earn overtime pay. His proposal would the lift the salary cap to $50,000 for all workers, even managers and executives. But many businesses have said the President’s idea will backfire. Judy Woodruff talks to Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez about the plan and the opposition.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): The President called for major changes today that could substantially expand the number of people earning overtime.
Under current labor law, workers are supposed to earn overtime pay at the rate of time-and-a-half if they put in more than 40 hours a week. But those who earn more than $455 a week, or about $23,000 a year, and are classified as executives are exempt. That usually includes many managers. President Obama would like to lift that salary cap higher in 2016, so that all workers earning up to $50,000 a year would be eligible for overtime.
Many businesses are opposed and have said this idea would backfire.
We recently sat down with David French, who is a senior vice president at the National Retail Federation. Even before all the details were released, he said the plan wouldn’t help employees.
DAVID FRENCH, National Retail Federation: Our analysis says that instead of providing overtime for millions more workers, employers are going to make rational choices and they’re going to spread the same amount of money across a slightly larger pool of hourly and part-time workers.
Every employer is going to have to look at their jobs and decide whether or not the job functions that they have match up with the obligation to pay overtime, and they’re probably going to redesign a lot of jobs.
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