Millions of Maine's salaried workers will now be eligible for overtime pay as a Biden-Harris administration rule to increase the threshold for overtime eligibility finally takes effect starting July 1, the Labor Department news release reads.
The Biden-Harris Administration Granting Workers Their Deserved Overtime Pay
The Biden-Harris administration's final rule aimed at broadening overtime protections for millions of lower-paid salaried workers across the country, raising the thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees from federal overtime pay mandates.
The rule upholds the principle that employees deserve overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a week. Acting Secretary Julie Su highlighted the disparity where lower-paid salaried workers perform equivalent roles to their hourly counterparts but often sacrifice additional family time without extra pay. Given this unacceptable situation, the rule commits to improving conditions for workers essential to economic prosperity.
The department engaged extensively with employers, workers, unions, and other stakeholders, reviewing over 33,000 comments before issuing its proposed rule in September 2023. The revised rule specifies the criteria determining bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees exempt from overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman stated that the Department of Labor aims to ensure lower-paid salaried workers receive fair compensation for their work or adequate time off with their families. She emphasized that the rule offers employers clear and consistent guidelines on overtime pay, providing more excellent economic stability to the millions of workers who regularly work extended hours without additional compensation, the press release reads.
The Biden-Harris Overtime Pay Rule Changes
James Myall, an analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy, calculated that the rule will qualify roughly 3,000 workers in Maine for coverage under the Biden administration's rule starting Monday. Along with the additional 23,000 workers anticipated to be covered when the threshold increases again on January 1, the rule will potentially impact a total of 26,000 Maine employees over the next year.
Representative Marc Malon (D-Biddeford) described the bill as a straightforward effort to bring fairness to executive, administrative, or professional workers, adding that the yearly updates to the overtime threshold would guarantee that employees receive their entitled benefits in the future, Maine Morning Star reported.
In April, the Biden administration's finalized rule raises the salary threshold beyond which employees can be exempt from overtime pay, extending overtime compensation eligibility to approximately 4.3 million additional workers nationwide. Previously, Maine employees could be exempt from overtime pay if their salary exceeded $42,450 annually or $816.35 per week, and they were paid on a salary basis while primarily performing executive, administrative, or professional duties. Under the new rule, which takes effect starting Monday, the overtime exemption threshold increases to $43,888 per year or $844 per week. Beginning January 1, it will rise significantly to $58,656 annually or $1,128 per week and will be subject to adjustment every three years.
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