After months of criticism from Democrats and labor groups, the Bush administration
is making changes to its proposal for revisions to the rules governing overtime,
the Associated Press reports.
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Get Your Report Now!Under a revised version of the new overtime regulations, police, firefighters, emergency medical
technicians, other "first responders," and more lower-wage workers
would be eligible for overtime, according to the AP.
The report is based on interviews with Republican officials who spoke on the
condition of anonymity.
The officials tell the news service that under the new rules, workers earning
less than $23,660 a year would be eligible for overtime, up from $22,100 under
the initial draft.
The revised regulations would also increase the salary threshold for the definition
of "highly compensated" to $100,000, instead of the $65,000 threshold
in the initial proposal.
White House officials tell the news service about 107,000 white-collar workers
would lose overtime eligibility under the rule.
Democrats said more than 8 million white-collar workers would have lost overtime
eligibility under the fules of the initial plan. Since the Bush administration announced
its plan to overhaul the Fair Labor Standards Act in March 2003, Democrats in
Congress have been fighting to block the changes that would take away overtime eligibility.
The final rules governing overtime were expected to be published by the end
of March, but the rules were delayed while under review at the Office of Management
and Budget.
Update: The Department of Labor has launched a new webpage with details about the new rules. The page includes links to fact sheets, the regulations, and other resources.
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