Here's how the Department of Labor describes what its proposal would do:

     "For the first time since 1975, the Department's proposed regulations would raise the salary threshold -- below which workers would automatically qualify for overtime -- from $155 a week to $425 a week, or $8,060 per year, to $22,100 per year The impact of this revision will be to increase the wages of 1.3 million lower-income workers and reduce the number of low-wage salaried workers currently being denied overtime pay. Other proposed changes include revising job duties required to qualify for the exemption to better correspond to 21st century workplace realities. The old regulations, written in 1949, mention job classifications that no longer exist, such as key punch operators, straw bosses, leg men and gang leaders. Clarifying which job duties qualify for overtime pay will help workers and employers easily determine overtime entitlement for millions of workers whose status is currently unclear." (1)

     Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao is adamant that organized labor's scare campaign represents what the DOL calls "myths, distortions and inaccuracies": "The Department's overtime reform proposal will not eliminate overtime protections for 8 million workers, will not eliminate overtime protections for police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other first responders, will not eliminate overtime protections for nurses, will not eliminate overtime protections for carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, laborers, teamsters, construction workers, production line workers and other blue-collar employees; and will not affect union workers covered by collective bargaining agreements. The Department's reform will strengthen overtime protections for millions of low-wage and middle-class workers, will empower workers to understand and insist on their overtime rights, will enable the Department of Labor to vigorously enforce the law, will prevent unscrupulous employers from playing games with workers' overtime pay, and will put an end to the lawsuit lottery that is delaying justice for workers and stifling our economy with billions of dollars in needless litigation."(2)

     Analyst Paul Kersey of the Heritage Foundation agrees: "by raising the minimum salary level needed for 'white collar' status, the Labor Department is returning to the original intent of the Fair Labor Standards Act - to protect unskilled manual laborers from the dangers of overwork. By limiting work hours, Congress meant to reduce the dangers of fatigue and workplace accidents and allow workers more time for recreation, family and education. Executives, administrators and professionals were excluded because they were seen as having both higher compensation and greater job security, giving them better control over their own work hours."

     Kersey adds: "The drafters of the original Fair Labor Standards Act probably would be shocked to learn that, under today's rules, a cook earning $13,000 a year can be considered an executive because he supervises two kitchen workers, while a technician with a $70,000 salary can receive mandatory overtime pay. More straightforward regulations will make enforcement of the wage-and-hour laws easier. Thus unskilled workers, the employees who have the least control over their working hours and conditions, will receive the maximum level of protection. Under the new rule, any worker receiving a salary of less than $20,000 will be eligible for overtime, regardless of his or her job duties."(3)