President Obama Extends Overtime Pay

It is not uncommon for American workers to work more than the typical 40-hour work week, but many of them are not receiving compensation for the extra time they put in. President Obama may soon be changing that, offering more overtime pay to a larger group of people that work more than their full time hours dictate. However, some people are concerned about whether or not this is really going to benefit them, according to Forbes.

From a voting standpoint, the strategy makes perfect sense and lower wage workers will get more respect for the president, while capitalists aren’t going to take much notice, as they are likely already looking down on the rise of the federal minimum wage. While this is all well and good, labor experts advise workers not to count on these overtime raises quite yet. These types of things can take a long time, as it must go through a strict protocol with the Labor Department’s Fair Labor Standards Act.

The original overtime rules were last amended in 2004 during the Bush Administration. According to Patrick Bannon, a partner for the Seyfarth Shaw Wage and Hour Litigation Practice, it could take years before changes take effect. As of now, Obama is simply telling the public what he intends to do in regards to overtime allowances. The amendments in 2004 took several years to go into effect, proving these new changes could take just as long.

Another issue is that both houses of Congress are most likely not going to agree with the rise in overtime pay. Tammy McCutchen, a lawyer for labor and employment at Littler Mendelsen, was there during the changes in the Bush administration. She is certain that once the changes take place if it passed, employers will start lawsuits. The original Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938 and has two main classes of employees, including managers and executives, and employees. One of the problems here is that it is difficult to distinguish who is an actual manager, and whether or not they should receive overtime pay. Employees often get time and a half now for going over 40 hours in a work week, but managers and executives rarely do.

Other problems that might arise from the president’s overtime bill is that monitoring the employee’s time and how it is spent throughout the day could become even more intense. Employees are likely to no longer be allowed to work at home, or even choose to work overtime simply to finish a big project. Employers who don’t want to pay their overtime, may even hire new employees and give closer to part time schedules to everyone to prevent possible overtime of less full time employees.

Even if this passes, many people are still exempt from overtime, including the lawyers handling these labor and employment cases.

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