Interview with Jared Bernstein, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris
House Passes White House Plan To Deprive Millions of Workers Overtime Pay
Interview with Jared Bernstein, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, conducted by Scott Harris
With the backing of powerful corporate lobbyists, the Bush administration is successfully pushing to change federal work regulations that could deprive over eight million white-collar employees overtime pay when they work more than a 40-hour week. The Labor Department has proposed new regulations that would give employers the right to reclassify workers from hourly wage earners to administrative or executive status, thus depriving them of the right to earn time-and-a-half pay for overtime hours.
These changes to labor guidelines that have been on the books for over 50 years, would downgrade standards now governing the educational background and supervisory authority necessary to exempt employees from overtime pay requirements. Some economists have predicted that if enacted, these revisions would force increasing numbers of companies to shuffle job titles in order to remain competitive by paying workers less.
The Republican-controlled House recently approved the measure by a narrow 213 to 210 margin while the Senate has not as yet scheduled a vote. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Jared Bernstein, senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute, who discusses the Bush administration's drive to change these labor regulations and the consequences for millions of lower-paid workers.
Contact the Economic Policy Institute by calling (202) 775-8810 or visit their website at www.epinet.org
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Original: BTL:House Passes White House Plan To Deprive Millions of Workers Overtime Pay.