Effective Dec. 1, salaried employees making less than $47,476 per year will be eligible for overtime pay, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The new U.S. overtime pay threshold will affect about 4.2 million employees nationwide, including 370,000 employees in Texas. The DOL estimates that workers will earn an additional $1.2 billion per year as a result of the rule.
The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has no official position on the ruling, and data on how many chamber members the ruling will affect is unavailable, said Mike Berman, senior vice president of marketing and communications.
After the threshold increase, the salary threshold will increase every three years, beginning Jan. 1, 2020.
In a May 17 statement, U.S. President Barack Obama said employees should either get paid for working overtime or get extra time off work.
“This is a step in the right direction to strengthen and secure the middle class by raising Americans’ wages,” Obama said in the email. “When workers have more income, they spend it—often at businesses in their local community—and that helps grow the economy for everyone.”
The Highly Compensated Employees salary level is also being increased from the current $100,000 per year to $134,004 per year Dec 1.
Additional reporting by Kara Nuzback.