More Overtime On The Way? Obama Proposes Broader Coverage

WASHINGTON (AP) — They're called managers, and they sometimes work grueling schedules at fast food chains and retail stores. With those employees in mind, the Obama administration is proposing making up to 5 million more people eligible for overtime — its latest effort to boost pay for lower-income workers. Any salaried employee who's paid more than $455 a week — or $23,660 a year — can be called a "manager," given limited supervisory duties and made ineligible for overtime. To keep up with future inflation and wage growth, the proposal will peg the salary threshold at the 40th percentile of income, individuals familiar with the plan said. With the higher threshold, many more Americans — from fast food and retail supervisors to bank branch managers and insurance claims adjusters — would become eligible for overtime. Swa has joined a class-action lawsuit against Chipotle, which charges that apprentices shouldn't be classified as managers exempt from overtime. The National Retail Federation, a business group, says its members would probably respond by converting many salaried workers to hourly status, which could cost them benefits such as paid vacation. Obama, in his op-ed, argued the exemption was intended for highly paid, white-collar employees but now punishes lower-income workers because the government has failed to update the regulations. Or will we push for an economy where every American who works hard can contribute to and benefit from our success?