Protect Overtime Pay for 6 Million Workers

Protect Overtime Pay for 6 Million Workers
Wednesday, September 08, 2004

"The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote in the next 24 hours on a critical amendment to try to save workers' overtime pay. On August 23rd, a new Bush Administration policy governing overtime pay took effect that will hand millions of American workers a pay cut. Along with my colleagues in the House, I am working hard to stop this new rule. Whether or not the Bush Administration succeeds in cutting workers' pay will partly depend on the outcome of this vote.

For years it has been pretty clear who was eligible for overtime pay and who was not. And if you were eligble, you got paid time and a half for every hour you worked more than 40 hours in a single week. But now the rules have changed, and as many as six million people could have their eligibility changed-and their overtime pay cut. These workers would have the same jobs as before, work the same hours, or more, but not receive any overtime compensation. It is one of the worst labor policies this Administration has ushered through-and there have been many!

Workers who stand to lose their overtime pay because of the new rules include foremen, assistant managers, registered nurses, workers who perform relatively small amounts of supervisory or administrative work, salespeople who perform some amount of work outside the office, chefs, nursery school teachers, workers in the financial services industry, insurance claim adjusters, journalists, funeral directors and embalmers, law enforcement officers, athletic trainers, and others from all different parts of the workforce.

For more information about the new policy, visit: <