Trump’s Labor Dept expands overtime coverage to 1.3 million more employees

The Department of Labor on Tuesday issued a rule extending overtime eligibility to 1.3 million workers, the department said in a statement.

“For the first time in over 15 years, America’s workers will have an update to overtime regulations that will put overtime pay into the pockets of more than a million working Americans,” Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella said in a statement.

{mosads}”This rule brings a commonsense approach that offers consistency and certainty for employers as well as clarity and prosperity for American workers,” Pizzella added.

The final rule, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, raises the “standard salary level,” or the threshold at which workers are exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, from $455 to $684 per week, and raises the total annual compensation level for “highly compensated employees” (HCE) from $100,000 to $107,432.

The department estimates the raising of the standard salary level will make 1.2 million more people entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay, while another 101,800 will be eligible for overtime pay under the HCE compensation level increase.

“Today’s rule is a thoughtful product informed by public comment, listening sessions, and long-standing calculations,” Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton said in a statement. “The Wage and Hour Division now turns to help employers comply and ensure that workers will be receiving their overtime pay.”