Press Releases
Rep. Frederica S. Wilson Applauds the Department of Labor’s New Overtime RuleToday, the Department of Labor issued a final rule strengthening outdated rules for determining workers’ overtime eligibility. Under the new rule, most salaried, white-collar workers who earn less than $47,476 a year, or $913 a week, will be entitled to time-and-a-half pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a week. Currently, salaried, white-collar workers must earn less than $23,660, which is below the poverty line for a family of four, to be guaranteed overtime pay. This current salary threshold fails to reflect today’s economic realities, eroding the Fair Labor Standard Act’s protection against excessive work hours. Forty years ago, nearly two-thirds of the workforce was eligible for overtime protections. Today, only 8 percent of workers are eligible for overtime protections. “It’s not fair that the men and women teetering on the brink of poverty, people making $23,660 a year, are asked to work 50, 60, or 70 hours a week with no promise of extra pay. It’s not fair that millions of mothers and fathers who are forced to work long hours each week find it almost impossible to give their children the time and attention they deserve, yet are still deprived of the overtime pay that could lend to the economic security of their families,” said Rep. Wilson. “As Ranking Member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, I remain steadfast in my commitment to strengthening the wage and hour protections Americans deserve,” said Rep. Wilson. “As the representative of a severely economically depressed district with some the highest rates of income inequality in the nation, I support this rule update to ensure those working extra hours in a week are fairly compensated. The Department’s overtime rule will extend vital, long-awaited wage protections to nearly 4.2 million Americans, including 331,000 Floridians.” The Department’s updated rule will also ensure that the salary threshold is updated every three years to ensure the threshold remains strong in the futures. Over the coming weeks and months, the Department will provide employers with the information, guidance, and technical assistance needed to implement these new rules by the December 1, 2016, effective date. “I applaud the Department and the administration for their continued commitment to combatting the wage stagnation that has left far too many Floridians working more hours for less pay. My hard-working constituents, and Americans across this country, deserve a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. This overtime rule takes us one step closer to this goal,” said Rep. Wilson. More information on the Department’s overtime rule: |