Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Commonsense Overtime Pay Adjustment by Labor Department

WASHINGTON – Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president and director of policy of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the announcement that the Department of Labor is updating overtime pay requirements to reflect the realities of the current workforce. This is the first comprehensive update to the nation’s overtime rules since the 1970’s. It will ensure that millions of Americans are paid more fairly for the hours that they work:

“President Obama and Secretary Perez have just taken a bold and much needed step to improve the lives and earning potential for millions of Americans, including many women, low-income people, and people of color. This long overdue increase in the salary threshold is part of the first comprehensive update to our nation’s overtime rules since the 1970’s. The rule will also prevent future erosion of overtime protections by automatically updating the salary threshold every three years.

Our nation, our workplaces, and our economy have drastically shifted over the past 40 years.  Workers are suffering from stagnant wages, a rollback of their right to organize, unscrupulous employment contracts that bar them from enforcing their rights in court, and a minimum wage that—due to inflation— is worth a little less every day.

Congress has done little to address these shifts and improve the lives of everyday Americans. States, cities, and the executive branch have had to step up where Congress has failed to take action on a fairer minimum wage and protections from wage and hiring discrimination. 

We applaud President Obama and Secretary Perez for this historic step forward in ensuring that more of us can pursue the American Dream.”

Nancy Zirkin is executive vice president and director of policy of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference, visit www.civilrights.org.