The Presidential Election Could Impact Overtime Pay For Millions

In poll after poll, U.S. voters list the economy as their top concern heading into this year’s presidential election. Yet there’s a major economic issue looming that has gained almost no attention throughout the 2024 campaign: whether millions more U.S. workers could be eligible for overtime pay.

Most hourly workers get time-and-a-half pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week, under a law that’s been in place since the Great Depression. But the rules are less straightforward for employees on salary, and business lobbies have fought for years to keep as few salaried workers as possible eligible for extra pay.

A Donald Trump victory in November would almost certainly give employers the upper hand in this fight.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration finalized a rule that would significantly raise what’s known as the overtime “salary threshold” — the level below which most salaried workers are automatically guaranteed overtime pay. The Trump administration had set the threshold at just $35,568; Biden’s rule would send it up to $58,656 next year, then index it for inflation in the future.

That means if you’re a salaried worker earning below that amount annually, you would likely qualify for time-and-a-half pay if you work beyond 40 hours. The Biden administration estimates that by hiking the threshold so much, an additional 4 million workers would be covered by the law. (The Harris campaign didn’t respond when asked for her position on the overtime threshold, but Harris has not previously distanced herself from the Biden administration rule, which was rolled out in April.)

But the regulation’s future is uncertain due to court challenges — and that’s where the election comes into play.

A Trump campaign