Rep. Johnson’s Statement on New Overtime Pay Protections

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) released the following statement after the Department of Labor released its final rule to update and expand federal overtime pay protections to 4.2 million American workers across the country, including more than 155,000 in Georgia:

“Today, the Department of Labor announced a historic change to the overtime rule, which quite frankly has not been working for my constituents for many years. The new overtime rule will either boost the paychecks of millions of hard-working Americans, give them more free time or a combination of both. By updating this important protection for American workers, we take a leap forward to ensure that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.

“For decades, many Americans have been working longer hours while their pay remained the same. The transformative rule change will lift the salary threshold used to determine whether workers qualify for overtime from $23,660 to $47,476 per year. This means some 35 percent of full-time salaried workers, based on their pay, will now be eligible for overtime. It means more than four million Americans will receive the bigger paychecks their hard work deserves and will reaffirm the 40-hour work week as the cornerstone of middle-class life in America.

"I pledge to continue working with all my colleagues to help ensure that working Americans receive the pay they deserve.”

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