Earning less than $55,000 a year? You could be entitled to overtime pay with new Biden proposal

Struggling to make ends meet as part of the underappreciated workforce with insufficient overtime pay? President Joe Biden’s overtime pay proposal might just save the day.

While we’re all familiar with the modern-day superheroes grinding it out nonstop—often working over 40 hours—the minimum salary threshold of $35,568 annually that the Trump administration set in a 2020 rule comes up short, especially with inflation rising again in July 2023.

This is where Biden’s overtime pay proposal comes in by extending overtime protections to those earning less than $1,059 per week, or $55,000 per year. On Aug. 30, 2023, the US Department of Labor announced the proposal for overtime pay protections.

Setting the stage for change

According to the Department of Labor, an estimated 3.6 million workers would qualify for this proposal, including employees earning above the salary threshold, provided they aren’t under management-related roles.

The Biden-Harris administration is proposing a new rule that would make 3.6 million more Americans eligible for overtime pay.

The new rule would require employers to pay overtime to workers making under $55,000 a year. pic.twitter.com/71O06K7fUF

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) August 31, 2023

“For too long, many low-paid salaried workers have been denied overtime pay, even though they often work long hours and perform much of the same work as their hourly count,” Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement.

Furthermore, the proposal plans to update overtime pay every three years based on earnings data. However, workers that are paid hourly are ineligible.

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This overtime pay proposal can be traced back to Biden’s plan when he was still vice president where the threshold was increased from $23,000 to almost $47,500. While this proposal promises a lot, it still needs to be published under the Federal Register within a 60-day period for public comments on the proposed changes.

BREAKING: President Biden strikes a powerful blow for the working class as his Department of Labor announces a proposal to restore and extend mandatory overtime protections to 3.6 million salaried workers.

The historic move would guarantee overtime pay for most salaried workers… pic.twitter.com/Had2VpUW4u

— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) August 30, 2023

However, it is still susceptible to legal challenges similar to what happened with the Obama administration’s goal of increasing the threshold after a Texas district court blocked it in 2017 after it found that it was set too high.

In a nutshell, Biden’s overtime pay proposal is a narrative giving voice to those who’ve been fighting an uphill battle for fair salary. Will it be a story of triumph? We can only wait.