BOOM: Obama to issue executive order expanding overtime pay, increasing pay for millions of workers

[Cali_Democrat]

Obama Will Seek Broad Expansion of Overtime Pay
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and STEVEN GREENHOUSEMARCH 11, 2014


WASHINGTON — President Obama this week will seek to force American businesses to pay more overtime to millions of workers, the latest move by his administration to confront corporations that have had soaring profits even as wages have stagnated.

On Thursday, the president will direct the Labor Department to revamp its regulations to require overtime pay for several million additional fast-food managers, loan officers, computer technicians and others whom many businesses currently classify as “executive or professional” employees to avoid paying them overtime, according to White House officials briefed on the announcement.

Mr. Obama’s decision to use his executive authority to change the nation’s overtime rules is likely to be seen as a challenge to Republicans in Congress, who have already blocked most of the president’s economic agenda and have said they intend to fight his proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour from $7.25.

Mr. Obama’s action is certain to anger the business lobby in Washington, which has long fought for maximum flexibility for companies in paying overtime.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/us/politics/obama-will-seek-broad-expansion-of-overtime-pay.html?_r=1

[Cali_Democrat]

1. kick

[functioning_cog]

2. it's good news. why would you expect good news about Obama to be popular here?

let's throw the mantle of infallibility on Warren or Sanders until such time as they lead us crashing to the earth in a fiery 2016 defeat or they get elected and are quickly beset by DU adversaries for uncovering their Third Way selves.

[Cha]

4. lol

[Cali_Democrat]

8. hahahaha...nt

[Cha]

3. I cannot understand why People don't

kick a post they think is great enough to REC.. especially one that needs a kick-start.

Shame on the business lobby that wants work without pay..

Thank you President Obama for the EO! "For fast food workers"... etc Cue the Whine!

thanks Cali

[Cali_Democrat]

9. You're welcome!

[Capt. Obvious]

5. That's going to upset some here

[City Lights]

6. Great news!

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. He's looking in the right place for solutions.

updating FLSA laws to 21st century employment realities is overdue.

[JoeyT]

10. K&R

Those exceptions never made any sense anyway.

"Mr. Obama’s action is certain to anger the business lobby in Washington, which has long fought for maximum flexibility for companies in paying overtime."

Which is a very polite and roundabout way of saying "Assholes that want to steal from their employees are going to be pissed."

[Moosepoop]

11. They already are.

From the link in the OP:

Conservatives criticized Mr. Obama’s impending action. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” said Daniel Mitchell, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute, who warned that employers might cut pay or use fewer workers. “If they push through something to make a certain class of workers more expensive, something will happen to adjust.”

Marc Freedman, the executive director of labor law policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the nation’s overtime regulations “affect a very wide cross section of employers and our members.”

“I expect this is an area we will be very much engaged in,” Mr. Freedman said.

That "no such thing as a free lunch" remark really chaps my ass. So does working for free, and I've done a lot of it as an "exempt" employee over the years. You are SO correct in labeling them "assholes who want to steal from their employees." They've been doing it for years.

The "public comment" phase of this should be very interesting.

[JoeyT]

13. The only time I was ever exempted from overtime

was when I hired in as a 1099 on a job and learned to never ever ever do that. That's one of the other things that need to be done: Crack down heavily on 1099 abuse and fraudulent 1099s.

Once I heard "No overtime" on a 90+ hour workweek, I was done with that job. I didn't even last most of a day.

[Moosepoop]

17. I don't blame you a bit!!

And I agree -- abuse of the "independent contractor" designation is definitely another area that needs to be cracked down on!!

[okaawhatever]

12. Ha hak.....the pen IS mightier than the sword biches......... nt

[Scuba]

14. Thank you President Obama!

[DCBob]

15. Dictator!! IMPEACH IMPEACH IMPEACH!!

RWinger heads explode once again.

[steve2470]

16. k&r nt

[xynthee]

18. Wonderful news!!!! n/t

[Savannahmann]

19. Decent Start

But it would have had greater effect if he had told the NHTSB to do it. Truckers, and many warehouse workers are locked into jobs where they get no overtime under Federal Regulations regarding trucking. When I was driving trucks, the rules were you could not work more than 70 hours every eight days. If you worked in a warehouse that fell under the same regulations, then you did not get overtime unless you worked more than sixty hour per week.

I haven't driven trucks in fifteen years, but I doubt that they are getting the overtime for the incredibly long hours they put in.