DOL Proposes Expansion of Overtime Protections for Salaried Workers — Occupational Health & Safety

DOL Proposes Expansion of Overtime Protections for Salaried Workers

The updated rule would apply to salaried workers earning less than $55,000 per year.

• By Robert Yaniz Jr.
• Sep 01, 2023

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule to restore and extend overtime protections to 3.6 million salaried workers earning less than $55,000 per year.

According to a release dated August 30, the rule guarantees overtime pay for most salaried workers earning less than $1,059 per week. The initiative is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to restore economic security for workers. In the months of outreach leading up to this launch, the DOL held 27 listening sessions with over 2,000 participants.

The proposed rule’s primary objectives are to restore and extend overtime protections to low-paid salaried workers, give non-exempt executive, administrative or professional employees valuable time back, prevent future erosion of overtime protections, automatically update the salary threshold every three years and restore overtime protections for U.S. territories.

“I’ve heard from workers again and again about working long hours, for no extra pay, all while earning low salaries that don’t come anywhere close to compensating them for their sacrifices,” DOL Acting Secretary Julie Su said in a statement. “Today, the Biden-Harris administration is proposing a rule that would help restore workers’ economic security by giving millions more salaried workers the right to overtime protections if they earn less than $55,000 a year. Workers deserve to continue to share in the economic prosperity of Bidenomics.” 

The proposed rule is open for public comment for 60 days, at which point the DOL will publish the final rule.