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Workers Taking Overtime Issue to the Street
The Labor Department pulled the plug at the last minute on plans by unions and other groups to hold a public hearing at the department's headquarters attacking DOL's assault on overtime pay. So, proclaiming "They Can't Silence Us," we are taking to the streets in front of the DOL's Francis Perkins Building on June 30 to tell the public that near-secret actions by the department will steal overtime pay coverage from at least 8 million workers.
CWA members in the Washington, D.C., area are urged to attend the rally/news conference at noon on Monday, June 30 at the entrance to the DOL building at 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. CWA members and other workers will address the rally along with experts on overtime policy.
June 30 is the deadline for submitting public comments on the department's rewriting of the rules governing the Fair Labor Standards Act. Opponents of the devastating overtime changes had booked DOL's auditorium weeks ago, paying the usual $250 fee to use this public meeting space. But this week, when it was announced that the groups would be releasing a study by the Economic Policy Institute exposing the magnitude of the assault on workers, DOL suddenly reneged and claimed they needed the auditorium that day for an internal meeting.
The EPI study estimates that at least 8 million workers--most of them office and technical workers--could lose their right to overtime pay under the pending FLSA revisions. Employers could use new, vague criteria to classify workers as executives, administrators, professionals or sales employees, who earn as little as $22,000 per year, thereby making them ineligible for overtime pay. They would still be required to work extra hours, but for free.
"The rule changes proposed by the Bush administration would make drastic changes to these tests (for overtime eligibility), vastly increasing the number of exempt employees and making it likely that millions of them will work longer hours at reduced pay," EPI said.
The report scoffs at the labor department's claim that only 640,000 workers would lose overtime protection, saying the DOL "woefully underestimates" the number. CWA lawyer Mark Wilson said he suspects the figure is even higher than EPI estimates. "These language changes are so vague and ambiguous that virtually anyone could lose their right to overtime pay," he said.
Congress passed the FLSA in 1938, establishing the 40-hour week and requiring overtime pay beyond that for most workers. The DOL claims it's simply updating the rules to make it easier for employers to comply. Wilson said easing burdens on employers has never been the intention of the FLSA, instead it is strictly intended to protect workers. Overtime provisions of the FLSA were meant to penalize employers to minimize forcing people to work long hours, with the two-fold purpose of creating jobs and halting abusive conditions.
The full EPI report is available at www.epinet.org.
CWA members in the Washington, D.C., area are urged to attend the rally/news conference at noon on Monday, June 30 at the entrance to the DOL building at 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. CWA members and other workers will address the rally along with experts on overtime policy.
June 30 is the deadline for submitting public comments on the department's rewriting of the rules governing the Fair Labor Standards Act. Opponents of the devastating overtime changes had booked DOL's auditorium weeks ago, paying the usual $250 fee to use this public meeting space. But this week, when it was announced that the groups would be releasing a study by the Economic Policy Institute exposing the magnitude of the assault on workers, DOL suddenly reneged and claimed they needed the auditorium that day for an internal meeting.
The EPI study estimates that at least 8 million workers--most of them office and technical workers--could lose their right to overtime pay under the pending FLSA revisions. Employers could use new, vague criteria to classify workers as executives, administrators, professionals or sales employees, who earn as little as $22,000 per year, thereby making them ineligible for overtime pay. They would still be required to work extra hours, but for free.
"The rule changes proposed by the Bush administration would make drastic changes to these tests (for overtime eligibility), vastly increasing the number of exempt employees and making it likely that millions of them will work longer hours at reduced pay," EPI said.
The report scoffs at the labor department's claim that only 640,000 workers would lose overtime protection, saying the DOL "woefully underestimates" the number. CWA lawyer Mark Wilson said he suspects the figure is even higher than EPI estimates. "These language changes are so vague and ambiguous that virtually anyone could lose their right to overtime pay," he said.
Congress passed the FLSA in 1938, establishing the 40-hour week and requiring overtime pay beyond that for most workers. The DOL claims it's simply updating the rules to make it easier for employers to comply. Wilson said easing burdens on employers has never been the intention of the FLSA, instead it is strictly intended to protect workers. Overtime provisions of the FLSA were meant to penalize employers to minimize forcing people to work long hours, with the two-fold purpose of creating jobs and halting abusive conditions.
The full EPI report is available at www.epinet.org.