President Obama has said he will direct the Labor Department to draft new regulations to expand eligibility for overtime pay. At issue is the “white collar” exemption. Currently any employee that has any supervisory role consisting of as little of 5% of their time can be labeled exempt. This means, for example, that fast food workers with shift supervisor responsibilities can be labeled exempt. President Obama also intends to increase the minimum salary from $455 per week.

It is unknown how significant this change may be in the long run. Many employers will likely simply decrease the base pay to just above minimum levels so that the overtime work will not significantly add to the pay package.

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