Expanding Overtime Pay Is Overwhelmingly Popular
By Abby Springs
This Labor Day, millions of Americans will get an extra day off work to celebrate the labor movement and the importance of workers to our nation’s history. But if you’re a salaried worker who puts in extra hours when you get back to the office, it’s likely that those hours will go unpaid.
Signed into law in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act guarantees overtime pay of at least 1.5 times a worker’s regular pay for hours that exceed 40 per week. But there are limitations: Most executive, administrative, and professional workers are not covered under the FLSA because they earn salaries over $35,568 per year.
Today, only 15 percent of salaried workers are covered by the FLSA, compared to over 60 percent in 1975. On average, Americans work nine hours of unpaid overtime each week, resulting in over $17,000 in lost income per year at the full-time median wage.
New Data for Progress polling finds that the overtime pay guarantees of the FLSA have widespread, bipartisan support. Eighty-eight percent of voters say they support the guarantees, including 91 percent of Democrats and 86 percent of both Republicans and Independents.
Our polling also finds that voters’ support for overtime pay extends to all workers, not just those eligible under the FLSA. Eighty-six percent of voters agree that employees who work more than 40 hours a week should be guaranteed overtime pay, regardless of what kind of work they do.
When told that only white-collar workers making $35,568 or less a year are guaranteed overtime pay, a bipartisan majority of voters support increasing the salary threshold so that more workers can qualify for the FLSA protections. This includes Democrats by a +50-point margin, Independents by a +31-point margin, and Republicans by a +40-point margin.
While many pro-worker policies require an act of Congress, the executive branch doesn’t need to wait to protect overtime pay. The Department of Labor can adjust the salary threshold of the FLSA, unlocking millions of dollars in overtime pay that can help American families struggling with inflation and high prices. In June, the Congressional Progressive Caucus called on Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to raise the salary threshold to $82,732 per year, with automatic updates to prevent the threshold from falling further behind the American median income.
Over the last month, Democrats have delivered for voters on inflation, healthcare costs, climate change, and student debt. Protecting overtime pay could be another Democratic achievement that has the overwhelming support of the majority of Americans.
Abby Springs (@abby_springs) is the Press Assistant at Data for Progress.