Warren presses White House to move ahead on overtime rules

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is pressing the Labor Department to move ahead with its overtime rule, urging them to weigh the impact it will have on working families.

In a letter Monday, Warren asked the White House Office of Management and Budget to “pay particular attention” to the public comments submitted by workers and their families as the administration reviews the final rule.

{mosads}“Too often the voices of workers are buried beneath a flood of comments from lobbyists and lawyers,” she said. “But the record before your agency demonstrates that American workers are demanding updated overtime rules.”

Currently workers making more than $23,660 do not qualify for overtime. But the administration’s proposed rule would allow any worker making up to $50,440 a year eligible.

Expanding eligibility for overtime, Warren argues, will give millions of working families a fighting chance to build up their financial security.

“It’s time we listen to those voices,” she said.  

Warren released a report Monday estimating workers will see an additional $1.4 billion in wages in the first year as a result of the rule. Her report also detailed how each state will be impacted. In Alaska for example, 17,000 more salaried workers would be eligible for overtime pay, while the numbers in Wyoming would quadruple from 6,000 to 27,000, the report said.