The President has lobbied since his first term for an increase in the minimum wage, on which Congress continues to drag its feet. Tired of waiting for lawmakers to act, a number of states and municipalities have instituted their own increases. And with the median U.S. household income of $54,100 (still $1,500 below 2007 levels), progressives and labor advocates in Washington are pushing for a sharp increase to the threshold at which millions of employees are eligible for overtime pay (over 40 hours per week). So reports Bloomberg.
Currently, some managers earning as little as $23,660 per year are not eligible for overtime. U.S. Labor Department (DOL) officials and many Democratic senators are pushing for $51,000 to be the threshold at which an employee may be exempt from earning overtime.
Among the sticking points from the business point of view is what constitutes a “manager” who wouldn’t typically be eligible for overtime pay. Corporate lobbyists see any attempt to raise the threshold as a surefire job-killer, a disincentive for companies to hire managers or pay overtime, and a threat to the country’s still-nascent recovery.
The paltry minimum salary level has been raised only once since 1975, by President Bush in 2004. President Obama is now contemplating raising the overtime-eligible threshold through an executive order. The change could mean a significant pay raise for an additional six million workers, according to the DOL.