The Trump administration boosted the number of workers eligible for overtime, extending pay requirements for about 1.3 million people.
The rule, set to go into effect Jan. 1, would increase a key salary threshold below which workers generally qualify for time-and-a-half pay for logging more than 40 hours a week, The Wall Street Journal reports. That threshold would increase to $35,568 from $23,660—a figure that hasn’t changed since 2004. A more-sweeping version of this rule made by the Obama administration in 2016 was blocked by a court after states and businesses challenged it.
Today’s change comes as several states weigh overtime measures of their own, outpacing federal requirements. Some high-cost areas already have standards that exceed Tuesday’s new federal threshold. In California, for instance, workers at large employers earning less than $49,920 are paid overtime now; in 2023, workers earning less than $62,400 will be eligible.
The Labor Department estimated 1.2 million workers will become eligible for overtime under the new rule. An additional 100,000 will see their incomes rise under changes for a smaller category of workers—supervisors or company managers—who also are covered by overtime rules. It won’t be adjusted automatically after a set period. Read the full story.
