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Obama to expand overtime pay to millions of workers

By Amy R. Connolly
President Barack Obama speaks before signing documents Monday June 29, 2015 for H.R. 2146 Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act and H.R. 1295 Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015. Late Monday, Obama announced plans to change rules for overtime pay, opening it to millions more salaried workers. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI.
President Barack Obama speaks before signing documents Monday June 29, 2015 for H.R. 2146 Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act and H.R. 1295 Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015. Late Monday, Obama announced plans to change rules for overtime pay, opening it to millions more salaried workers. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI. | License Photo

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama announced a plan Monday that will give overtime pay for salaried employees who make up to $50,400 a year, opening the door for millions of workers to earn time-and-a-half wages.

Obama, in an opinion piece published in The Huffington Post, detailed changes to rules that would raise the salary threshold for those who automatically qualify for overtime to $50,440 a year ($969 a week) from the current $23,660 annually ($455 a week), even if they're classified as a manager or professional. The Obama administration has the power to change the regulation without congressional approval. The change, the second increase since 1975, could come as soon as 2016.

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Obama said the plan would be good for employees, employers and the middle class. He is expected to discuss the plan in a trip to La Crosse, Wis. on Thursday.

"We've got to keep making sure hard work is rewarded," the president wrote. "Right now, too many Americans are working long days for less pay than they deserve. That's partly because we've failed to update overtime regulations for years -- and an exemption meant for highly paid, white-collar employees now leaves out workers making as little as $23,660 a year -- no matter how many hours they work."

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Advocates hailed the decision as a win for workers, but acknowledged it could face challenges in court and from Congress. Some economists predict that certain employers would reduce workers' hours to save on overtime pay. Business lobbyists, including the National Retail Federation, argue such a change would force employers to retool their supervisory structures, reducing flexibility for managers to directly serve customers and cutting entry-level management jobs.

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