Bloomberg says it has confirmed with a White House official that the President’s order, expected to come today, will direct the Labor Department to tweak its rules regarding the so-called “white-collar exemption” so that millions of additional working Americans are eligible to be paid for working more than 40 hours in a week.
There are numerous salaried employees who work beyond that standard number of hours but receive no additional compensation. For example, a retail store manager making $28,000 a year who is exempt from overtime might easily work more than 50 hours in a week. But since she is not paid for those additional hours, she is actually earning about the same per hour as an overtime-eligible worker making $23,000 a year.
While no stories have specifics on exactly what the new exemption level would be, or how many people will be affected, the NY Times — the first to report the news — says the greatest impact will be felt in occupations like fast-food managers, loan officers, and computer technicians, who often work long hours but who are currently classified as “executive or professional” under the current overtime standards.
