President Obama wants you to pocket more overtime pay

Need a raise? Don't ask your boss; ask Obama. On Tuesday, the White House initiated motions to reform overtime pay laws via executive action, which, if successful, could result in a sizable pay bump for millions of Americans.

As overtime laws stand now, certain categories of workers are excluded from the monetary benefits of working long hours, such as highly compensated executives and professionals. Additionally, there exists a "threshold" salary for receiving overtime — anyone who makes less than the predetermined annual income (currently $23,660) is automatically entitled to overtime, regardless of management status. In these conditions, many companies are able to skirt paying their low-salaried employees by calling them a manager, even if they are stocking groceries for $24,000 a year for 80 hours a week.

This salary threshold is the center of Obama's reform. The administration certainly plans to raise it — the question is how high. Some House Democrats have suggested raising the magic number quite substantially, up to $69,000, which would "cover about two-thirds of salaried workers," as The Huffington Post reports. Now, only 11 percent of salary earners qualify for overtime pay.

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"President Obama believes that if you work hard, you should be rewarded for your effort," said a Department of Labor official.