The Obama administration proposed new rules last week that would nearly double the pay threshold below which employees automatically qualify for overtime pay. The new rules will do little to help workers, but they will help President Obama keep up his record of low wage-growth and less full-time hiring in the U.S. economy.
Federal labor law requires that those working more than 40 hours a week be paid 1.5 times their base rate of pay. But currently, employees who make more than $23,660 and perform managerial tasks can be exempted, depending on their precise circumstances. Under Obama’s new rule, which many left-wing groups have been advocating, anyone making less than $50,440 per year — close to America’s median household income — would automatically be entitled to time-and-a-half whenever they work more than 40 hours.
