A new rule issued by the Department of Labor is going to mean bigger paychecks for millions of salaried employees across the country. The rule increases the salary threshold for when workers should be awarded overtime pay.
Starting on July 1, workers earning $43,888, or $844 a week, will be eligible for overtime. Then, on January 1, 2025, the threshold will be raised again to $58,656, or $1,128 a week.
The salary threshold will be updated every three years, starting on July 1, 2027.
The Department of Labor estimates that about four million workers will benefit from the changes, and employees will earn an additional $1.5 billion in pay in the first year.
"This rule will restore the promise to workers that if you work more than 40 hours in a week, you should be paid more for that time," Acting Labor Department Secretary Julie Su said in a statement. "Too often, lower-paid salaried workers are doing the same job as their hourly counterparts but are spending more time away from their families for no additional pay. That is unacceptable. The Biden-Harris administration is following through on our promise to raise the bar for workers who help lay the foundation for our economic prosperity."