WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a proposed rule that it said would increase the number of U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay by more than a million.
Under current federal law set in 2004, employees with a salary below $455 per week ($23,600 annually) must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. Workers making at least that much may be eligible for overtime, depending on their duties.
In the document Labor issued March 7 as part of a 219-page manuscript, the agency proposes raising the overtime pay threshold to $679 per week ($35,308 annually), with eligibility above that threshold again based on job duties.
The agency held six in-person listening sessions and considered more than 200,000 comments in developing the rule, it said in a fact sheet.
Among other things, the proposal would:
- Increase the total annual compensation requirement for "highly compensated employees" from $100,000 to $147,414 annually;
- Commit to periodic reviews of the overtime pay salary threshold, again requiring public notice and comment;
- Allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments, including commissions, to satisfy up to 10 percent of the standard salary level; and
- Maintain overtime protections for police officers, firefighters, paramedics, nurses, non-management production line employees, and non-management maintenance workers, construction workers, mechanics, plumbers, electricians, etc.
Once the proposal appears in the Federal Register, interested parties will have 60 days to comment. The fact sheet on the rule, including a link to the full 219-page document, may be found at dol.gov/whd/overtime2019.