Some U.S. workers who don't get overtime compensation underwhat's known as the “white-collar exemption” would be able tocollect extra pay under revised regulations President Barack Obamaplans to order Thursday, according to a White House economist.

Obama is directing the Labor Department to modify overtime rulesso millions more people will be eligible for overtime pay forworking more than 40 hours a week, Betsey Stevenson, a member ofthe Council of Economic Advisers, said.

The move was criticized by business groups, which said it wouldadd to costs for companies.

Workers now classified as executive, administrative orprofessional may include managers of fast-food restaurants andconvenience stores who could receive overtime pay under the newrules, said Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic PolicyInstitute.

The administration is looking at “how we can make the laborforce as fair as possible,” Stevenson said today at a White Housebriefing. “It's a pretty simple idea; employers should pay peoplefor the hours they work.”

President George W. Bush in 2004 set $455 per week as thethreshold for what constitutes a white-collar worker for overtimepay purposes. The White House won't set a new threshold tomorrow,leaving that up to the Labor Department to decide, Stevensonsaid.

About 10 million workers might benefit from the rule if itapplied to people making less than $50,000 a year, the EconomicPolicy Institute said today. The Washington-based group supportsthe change.

“It changes your quality of life when you know you can't berequired to work an extra 20 hours a week without being paid forit,” Eisenbrey said in a phone interview. “It could mean more moneyin your pocket, and on the other hand it could mean a more relaxedand reasonable life.”

The amount a change would cost employers depends on thethreshold, which the institute recommends be about $52,000 a year,and on how employers decide to react, he said. Employers couldlimit workers to 40-hour work weeks or could pay workers time and ahalf for hours worked above 40.

The Obama proposal would restrict who can be labeled supervisorsand made exempt from the rule, said Eisenbrey, who has talked withWhite House staff about it.

“The restaurant industry is famous for doing this, for callingpeople assistant managers,” he said. “Retail establishments dothis, convenience stories. But it's pretty widespread.”

Democratic Push
Democrats in 2004, led by presidential candidate John Kerry, who isnow secretary of state, criticized the Bush plan saying it wouldcause more than 6 million workers to lose overtime pay.

While Bush got the change through in regulation, it also metopposition from both houses of Congress. Bush threatened to vetoany legislation that would block it.

Obama's move would mark the latest in a series of executiveactions this year from the president, who said in his State of theUnion address in January that he plans to use that authority whenhe can in the face of resistance in Congress. Obama raised theminimum wage for federal contract workers and is lobbying Congressto boost it to $10.10 an hour nationally.

The push for a higher federal minimum wage has become acenterpiece of Obama's attempt to help Democratic Party candidatesbefore the November midterm elections that will decide control ofthe U.S. House and Senate.

Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, andbusiness groups say that raising the minimum wage would lead to areduction in jobs, hurting those it aims to help. A CongressionalBudget Office report last month found that raising the rate inthree steps as Obama proposes would reduce U.S. jobs by 500,000, or0.3 percent, while lifting 900,000 people out of poverty.

Business groups today criticized the overtime plan, saying itwould be another cost burden on companies.

It “demonstrates another anti-business policy — coming on theheels of a proposal to increase the minimum wage, increase theminimum tipped wage, rising health-care costs, as well asever-growing, costly and unwieldy regulations,” Eric Reller, aspokesman for the National Federation of Independent Business, saidin an e-mail.

Business Impact
Theovertime requirement would disproportionately hurt smallerbusinesses, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said.

“We understand that the administration is looking for ways toput more money in people's pockets, but the only way to do this isto grow the economy and create more jobs,” Blair Latoff Holmes, aspokeswoman for the chamber, based in Washington, said in ane-mail. “Adding more burdens to employers will not accomplish thatgoal.”

Sixty-nine percent of Americans, including 45 percent ofRepublicans, support the president's call to raise the federalminimum wage to $10.10 over the next three years, according to aBloomberg National Poll. Twenty-eight percent of poll respondentsoppose such action.

The poll also showed that Republicans are finding persuasivecounter-arguments, including the risk of job losses.

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