Last year, after years of work, the Department of Labor (DOL) updated the overtime pay rule, giving 12.5 million people access to the overtime pay they deserve by raising the salary threshold below which all workers are eligible for overtime pay from $23,660 to $47,476. But now, the Trump administration is attempting to weaken and perhaps kill the updated rule with a new Request for Information—once again siding with corporate CEOs over working people.
One reason Americans’ paychecks have not been keeping pace with their productivity is that millions of middle-class workers have been working overtime but not getting paid for it. The updated overtime pay rule ensures that middle-class Americans who work hard get a fair return on that work—putting money in people’s pockets and giving them the chance to spend more time with their families. The Trump administration is trying to take that away.
DOL does not need more information about the rule. EPI alone submitted eight separate studies during the two year rulemaking period, and the public submitted hundreds of thousands of comments in support of the updated rule. Corporate interests had plenty of time to weigh in—they flooded the department with comments and analyses during the rulemaking period, and some of their comments were incorporated into the final rule, reflected in the revised salary threshold and timing of the automatic updates.
It is a waste of time and money to have another review of a rule that has been thoroughly studied. The Trump administration’s reasons for opening this RFI are clear. It is little more than a transparent attempt to weaken or even kill the updated overtime rule, and allow corporate CEOs to line their pockets at the expense of middle-class families.