Today, employers face the deadline for complying with new rules governing who
is eligible for overtime, but debate over the rules continues among politicians, the New York Times reports.
As new rules governing overtime eligibility take effect today, nobody really
knows the effect the new rules will have on the number of workers who receive
overtime, according to the Associated Press.
While some firms are working feverishly to bring their companies into compliance
with new overtime rules by the August 23 deadline, some smaller firms are unaware of the new
OT regulations' existence, Associated Press reports.
President Bush is urging Congress to pass legislation that would allow private-sector
employers to offer employees compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay.
Class-action lawsuits alleging companies violated the Fair Labor Standards Act's
overtime rules for white-collar workers have increased from 31 in 1997 to 102
in 2003, according to a report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Officials, employers, and employees in 18 states where the federal government's new overtime regulations will not be automatically adopted are asking what the federal government's new overtime rules mean
in their states, the Associated Press reports.
The Senate voted Tuesday to alter the Bush administration's new overtime-exemption rules by guaranteeing overtime pay to those workers now eligible for it under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao says new overtime rules, which the Labor Department
has dubbed the "FairPay" rules, will strengthen overtime protection
for America's workers.
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.
The Labor Department was expected to publish final rules governing overtime
eligibility today, but the regulations will be delayed while the Office
of Management and Budget reviews them, the Boston Globe reports.
