Subject: Daily Message Points -- May 18, 2016
From: "Cunnane, Pat EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
To: "Cunnane, Pat EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 18 May 2016 15:15:16 +0000

Daily Message Points

May 18, 2016

Expanding Overtime Pay

*         Since he took office, the President has worked to ensure that our economy rewards hard work and responsibility. That's why, today, the Administration is updating and strengthening overtime pay rules to make sure millions more Americans are paid fairly.

*         Every week, millions of Americans work more than 40 hours but do not receive the overtime pay they deserve.

*         And since 1975, the share of full-time workers automatically qualifying for overtime based on their salaries has plummeted from 62 percent to 7 percent today. In short, this important policy has not kept up with the times.

*         The President is fixing that. At his direction, the Department of Labor is taking action to:

o   Extend overtime protections to 4.2 million additional workers who are not currently eligible for overtime under federal law.  They will now be eligible for overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week.

o   Raise the salary threshold from $23,660 to $47,476 a year, or from $455 to $913 a week.

o   Raise Americans' wages by an estimated $12 billion over the next 10 years, with an average increase of $1.2 billion annually.

o   Update the salary threshold every three years to ensure it does not erode.

o   Raise the "highly compensated employee" threshold - from $100,000 to $134,004 - above which only a minimal showing is needed to demonstrate an employee is not eligible for overtime.

o   Respond to employers' concerns by making no changes to the "duties test" and allowing bonuses and incentive payments to count toward up to 10 percent of the new salary level.

*         Today's action takes into account input from 270,000 public comments and extensive outreach meetings with workers, employers, and concerned citizens.

*         The President will continue fighting to grow our economy and ensure that an honest day's work should get a fair day's pay.

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