WASHINGTON (AP) — More American workers would qualify for overtime with a plan President Barack Obama is proposing.
Right now, any salaried employee paid more than $455 a week — or about $23,600 a year — can be called a "manager" and doesn't have to be paid overtime.
The president wants salaried employees earning up to about $50,400 to be able to earn overtime. Obama says the current limit is low and undercuts the intent of the overtime law.
Many low-paid managers, especially in fast food chains, work so many hours that their employees make more per hour than they do.
President Obama says too many Americans are working long days for less pay than they deserve because of outdated rules on overtime pay. He says it would extend overtime protection to about 5 million workers.
Obama wrote in an op-ed in The Huffington Post that officials must "keep making sure hard work is rewarded. That's how America should do business. In this country, a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay."
To keep up with future inflation and wage growth, the proposal will peg the salary threshold at the 40th percentile of income, individuals familiar with the plan said. They requested anonymity to discuss the proposal ahead of the official announcement.
Obama is set to promote the proposal during a visit Thursday to La Crosse, Wisconsin.
