Trump wraps up his war on workers with new rule to deny fair pay to journalists

[turbinetree]

By Emily Singer -January 19, 2021 3:28 PM

Donald Trump's taking his war on the press to a new level, insisting they shouldn't get paid.

Donald Trump's Department of Labor on Tuesday determined that local news reporters can be excluded from minimum wage and overtime laws, the latest move his administration has made to hurt working people in the United States.

The determination came in a guidance letter issued the day before Trump's term in office expires, and says that local news reporters can be classified as "creative professionals" who are exempt from minimum wage and overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

It's unclear which local media outlet leaders may have asked for this carve-out for their employees. The letter is not addressed to any particular person and says only that the person who asked for the clarification wrote on "behalf of several employers in the print, broadcast, and digital media industries throughout the United States" that are "predominantly small-town community and large metropolitan daily newspapers, but also include local broadcast stations."

This exemption could hurt local media reporters, who have already faced countless layoffs and furloughs as local news outlets struggle amid falling revenue. Newspapers around the country have cut half of their jobs since 2008, according to a Pew Research Center report. And the COVID-19 pandemic in particular has accelerated the decline in jobs at newspapers.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

https://americanindependent.com/donald-trump-workers-minimum-wage-journalists/

He really is an asshole, this will be my last copy and paste of a pie hole..............the first amendment will live..........