08/23/2004
Monday new rules from the Labor Department went into effect, designed to strengthen overtime protection for workers and simplify the process for employers.
The new FairPay rules guarantee overtime protection to workers earning less than $23,660 per year. These new rules will aid 6.7 million American workers, including 1.3 million low-wage workers who did not qualify for overtime under the old rules. Under the previous regulations, only workers earning less than $8,060 annually were guaranteed overtime. The new rules also clarify and update overtime provisions for today’s workforce, aiming to simplify the process of determining overtime eligibility.
“6.7 million workers will see their overtime protections strengthened under the new Overtime Security Rule,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “Under the new rules, workers will know their overtime rights, employers will know their responsibilities and the department can more vigorously enforce these protections. In addition, the department has undertaken the most extensive compliance outreach on any regulation in its history to help employers comply with the new rules.”
The overtime regulations were first created in 1939 and until now had not been substantially updated since 1949.
