IF ALL had gone according to the Obama administration’s plans, 4.2 million middle-income workers would have gotten an early Christmas gift. Under a Labor Department regulation issued in May, they were scheduled to become eligible for overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week, starting Dec. 1. The Federal Labor Standards Act, the ultimate source of authority for the national time-and-a-half standard, exempts “executive, administrative and professional employees” who earn a salary. Like the minimum wage, the overtime rule tries to set a floor below which market forces cannot drive pay — to correct for the generally stronger bargaining position of employers. Any overtime rule Congress imposes should include mandatory periodic adjustments to account for new conditions, and specify criteria, including inflation and changes in the nature of work, thus keeping future surprises, for both workers and employers, to a minimum.

Source: Washington Post November 28, 2016 00:14 UTC