Overtime Rules Seen Boosting Low-Wage Hiring

The Wall Street Journal (online registration required): The Obama administration’s proposal to expand eligibility for overtime pay is designed to boost what workers earn. But some economists and businesses say it will more likely add to the number of low-paid workers.

The revamped regulation would make about 4.6 million more workers eligible for overtime pay. Salaried employees earning less than $50,400 annually, or about $970 a week, would be paid time-and-a-half when they work more than 40 hours a week, more than double the current salary threshold. The average annual wage for all U.S. workers last year was $47,230, according to the Labor Department.

Read article