Realizing the need for updated overtime rules, the Obama Administration has raised the qualifying income threshold to $47,476 for salaried employees, making 4.2 million more workers eligible for time-and-a-half when they work more than 40 hours per week. Under the regulation, which will take effect on December 1, 2016, the threshold will be updated every three years.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO praises the updated overtime rule that puts more money into the pockets of hard working families, who continue to fall further behind while the companies that employ them book record profits. Without sensible overtime rules, companies often take advantage by making a single employee do the work of several employees. Under the new measure, companies will have a greater incentive to hire more workers or allocate more hours to part-time workers.
Furthermore, when working families have more money, they as consumers will help to drive the economy forward and ensure rising demand for goods and services that will spur job growth and strengthen the middle class. We welcome this constructive reform, and look forward to working with our union brothers and sisters to build on this progress.