May 17, 2016

Wyden Applauds Actions to Provide Overtime Pay to Tens of Thousands of Oregonians

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement after the White House announced it would extend overtime pay to millions of American workers.

“Working men and women are putting in more hours than ever before, yet coming home to their families without fair compensation for the extra time on the job,” Wyden said. “It’s long past time to make overtime pay a reality for thousands of Oregonians and millions of people nationwide who have earned every penny of their overtime wages.”

The Department of Labor announced that it would expand overtime pay protections for an expected 4.2 million Americans who are not currently eligible under federal law and boost wages for workers by $12 billion over the next 10 years.

The proposal would bring overtime pay to salaried workers making up to $47,476 a year. Currently, only workers making only $23,660 or less automatically qualify for overtime, and that threshold hasn’t been meaningfully updated since the 1970s. The department issued a proposed rule last year.

In March, Wyden, along with Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.,  Al Franken, D-Minn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called on the Department of Labor to quickly finalize its overtime pay proposal to ensure wages match the rising costs of education, retirement and childcare.

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