5 million additional Americans are expected to qualify for overtime pay under the new rule.
Millions of additional Americans are expected to become eligible for overtime pay under a new rule expected to be released by the Labor Department as early as this week.
The Obama administration, and worker advocates, have portrayed the change as a linchpin of its efforts to raise U.S. wages that have stagnated for years. Businesses, however, say the measure will saddle them with red tape and force many to effectively demote managers or find ways around the regulation.
Currently, management, administrative and professional employees earning more than $26,660 a year are exempt from receiving overtime pay when they put in more than 40 hours a week. The rule proposed by Labor last summer would raise that threshold to $50,440. However, law firms and worker advocacy groups say the final version lowers the proposed threshold slightly to $47,000.