Obama Set To Expand Overtime Pay Protections For 5 Million More Americans

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President Obama on Monday announced plans to bring overtime pay protections to 5 million more Americans within the next year.

Current regulations allow for employees earning a salary of $23,660 or more to be disqualified from overtime pay — considered "exempt" — if their job duties meet certain requirements. In his announcement on the Huffington Post, Obama said he plans to raise that benchmark to about $50,400 a year, qualifying millions more for overtime pay.

Since the currently regulation is a Department of Labor rule, Obama does not need Congressional approval to make the change.

Obama, who plans to discuss the policy change while in Wisconsin this week, said the current regulation — meant to exempt high-paid, white-collar workers — actually hurts the middle class.

"We've got to keep making sure hard work is rewarded," he wrote. "Right now, too many Americans are working long days for less pay than they deserve."

The president described the plan as part of his longstanding commitment that every American get a "fair shot."

"That's good for workers who want fair pay, and it's good for business owners who are already paying their employees what they deserve -- since those who are doing right by their employees are undercut by competitors who aren't," Obama wrote.

The National Retail Federation has already voiced its opposition to expanding overtime regulations to store managers and assistant managers, suggesting it could increase payroll costs and lead to fewer full-time workers. The federation has also noted that most managers it has polled oppose the proposed changes, fearing they may hinder their ability to multitask between supervisory roles and other duties.

"The retail industry is concerned because the expected change in wage levels could bring many store managers or assistant managers under overtime rules, taking away their ability to use their own discretion in deciding whether to put in the extra hours sometimes needed to do their jobs," the federation has said.

SOURCE: BuzzFeed