From the Economic Policy Institute (http://www.epi.org/):
President Trump likes to put workers in photo ops. But when it comes to actual policies that support working people, he sides with Wall Street, the Chamber of Commerce and corporate CEOs time and again.
Last year, the Department of Labor updated the overtime pay rule, which raised the overtime salary threshold from $23,660 to $47,476. When fully implemented, this would benefit 12.5 million working people―making 4.9 million newly eligible to receive the overtime pay they deserve, and strengthening the rights of 7.6 million more.
But now, Donald Trump’s Department of Labor is opening up a “Request for Information” in a blatant attempt to undercut this rule, which is critical to our ability to earn a fair wage.
Go to https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-dept-of-labor-protect-overtime-pay-for-millions-of-working-people-2 to submit your comment to the Department of Labor, demanding the full implementation of this badly-needed, updated overtime rule in its current form.
Back in 1975, President Gerald Ford’s Labor Department set the salary level for overtime exemption at the equivalent of about $58,000 in today’s dollars―high enough to cover more than 50 percent of full-time salaried workers. The Obama-era rule set it at $47,476―high enough to cover about 34 percent of full-time salaried employees but lower than the level that it was in the 1970s. That’s why the salary threshold should be at least $47,476 and it should be indexed going forward to maintain its value as wages and prices rise.
Overtime reform is a key accomplishment in our work to raise the wages of all workers. Don’t let Donald Trump’s Department of Labor take it away!
The updated overtime rule is exactly what we need for workers to get a fair return on their hard work. It’s time to fully implement and enforce the updated overtime rule.
Thank you for all that you do to raise the wages of all working people.
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