By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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An Overdue Fix to Overtime (Other Words)
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Richard Kirsch argues that raising the salary limit for mandatory overtime pay would help the underemployed, too, as they would likely get more hours. He suggests shifting the salary limit so that 7 in 10 workers will be covered, just as they were in 1975.
To do that, the Department of Labor should set the new cap to at least $1,327 a week, or $69,000 a year. That level would do what the law was intended to do — namely, to distinguish between workers and bosses.
As a result, 10 million workers would get more money in their wallets to spend boosting the economy in their communities.
In addition to increasing the weekly salary amount, the Labor Department should modernize the rules so that the so-called “managers” at fast food restaurants, clothing outlets, and discount stores — who may be responsible for supervising their co-workers but don’t have any real executive authority — get overtime as well.
Closing the overtime loophole could also increase the earnings of millions of part-time workers. Rather than paying time-and-a-half to employees they’re currently forcing to work unpaid overtime, many businesses are likely to increase the hours worked by part-time employees who are eager to work more.
Follow below the fold for more.
Study Finds Violations of Wage Law in New York and California (NYT)
Steven Greenhouse reports on a new Department of Labor study that finds that in 2011, between 3.5 and 6.5 percent of workers in New York and California were paid less than the minimum wage.
Even the Night Owls Need to Go Home Eventually (Pacific Standard)
Jake Blumgart looks at the Philadelphia subway system's shift to 24-hour weekend service, which was advertised as a nightlife service but has been heavily used by workers who get off late.
Legislator to Introduce Right-to-Work Legislation (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Todd Richmond reports on the Wisconsin GOP Assembly member who plans to introduce the legislation despite warnings from Democrats that it could lead to protests like Wisconsin saw in 2011.
Are Cities the Next Front in the Right’s War on Labor? (The Nation)
Moshe Marvit looks at anti-union groups' plans to push right-to-work laws on a local level, which has no legal precedent but is likely to be attempted anyway in labor-friendly states.
Democrats, It’s Time to Move On (WSJ)
Focusing on the could'ves and should'ves of the midterms won't deliver the economic momentum that American voters want, writes William Galston. Democrats need to instead focus on these next two years.