Obama administration extends overtime pay to more than 4 million Americans

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last updated 18 May 2016

On Wednesday, the Department of Labor will finalize a rule that increases the annual salary threshold that determines which workers qualify for overtime pay, the White House announced Tuesday.

The rule will extend overtime protections to 4.2 million more Americans, and will boost wages by $10 billion over the next decade, CBS News reports. The rule will take effect on Dec. 1, and doubles the salary threshold to $47,476 from $23,660 a year. "We're strengthening our overtime pay rules to make sure millions of Americans' hard work is rewarded," President Obama said in a statement. "If you work more than 40 hours a week, you should get paid for it or get extra time off to spend with your family and loved ones." Obama announced the change a year ago, and it will update automatically every three years.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.