Brown, Murray, Scott, Takano Ahead Of Deadline for Overtime Rule Appeal: Overtime Rule Would Give Millions of Workers Greater Economic Security
Trump Administration must decide whether to continue Obama appeal of November court decision preventing Overtime Rule from being enforced by Friday
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Patty Murray (D-WA), and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Mark Takano (D-CA) today introduced a resolution in support of the 2016 federal overtime rule, which would help ensure low-wage workers are being paid fairly by making 4.2 million workers eligible for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. By introducing this resolution, the Members of Congress are urging the Department of Labor to support a rule that will provide economic stability to millions of working families.
This Friday marks the deadline for President Donald Trump and the Department of Labor to defend the rule by continuing the Obama Administration’s appeal of the November 2016 decision by a federal judge that prevented the rule from being enforced. Just yesterday, the Department of Labor sent a request for information (RFI) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), signaling that the Department intends to consider changes to the rule including potentially lowering the salary threshold.
“Too many workers are logging 50 or 60 hours a week but aren’t getting paid for it. When we don’t pay workers what they’ve earned, the value and dignity of work deteriorates. We need to change that,” said Sen. Brown. “President Trump must follow through on his promise to stand up for Ohio workers by defending the overtime rule and implementing it as finalized by the Obama Administration.”
“Too many workers today are unable to support their families or join the middle class because of outdated overtime rules,” said Sen. Murray. “These updated worker protections will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of workers and families, so I sincerely hope President Trump and Secretary Acosta choose to stop siding with corporate special interests, and instead stand up for workers like the President promised he would on the campaign trail.”
Prior to the rule’s announcement in May 2016, the threshold for overtime pay was out-of-date and failed to support workers. Only people who have earned $455 or less per week or $23,660 annually – roughly eight percent of salaried workers – qualify for overtime pay when working over 40 hours. Under the new rule, workers earning below $47,476 annually would be eligible for overtime pay. Additionally, the salary threshold will be automatically revised every three years to ensure that workers receive the fair pay they have earned.
“Last year, the Obama Administration took a critical step towards giving millions of Americans a long overdue raise by updating the country’s outdated overtime rule,” said Rep. Scott. “This overtime resolution urges the Trump Administration to support the updated overtime rule and restore the value of the 40-hour work week by ensuring that working people get paid for every hour spent on the job.”
“The overtime rule is based on a simple principle: Middle-class workers should be paid for the hours they work. Forcing employees to work long hours without fair pay is not only unjust, it imposes profound hardship on working families by stripping them of the time and money they have earned,” said Rep. Takano. “The central premise of President Trump’s campaign was his promise to stand up for working families, but since taking office he has taken every opportunity to turn his back on American workers. I implore him to implement the overtime rule as written and restore overtime protections for millions of hard-working Americans.”
Full text of the resolution is HERE.
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