Civil and Human Rights Coalition Slams Labor Department Request to Revisit Overtime Rule

WASHINGTON— Seema Nanda, executive vice president and COO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the former chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Labor in the Obama administration, released the following statement after the Trump Department of Labor issued a request for information on the overtime rule: 

“With today’s request for information, Secretary Acosta has set forth his intent to lower the salary threshold set forth in the 2016 overtime rule, siding with big business over millions of hardworking people. The 2016 rule would have restored overtime protections to millions of middle-class workers by increasing the salary threshold, which had not kept up with wage growth or inflation. It would have benefited 12.5 million people, providing them with extra pay for extra work, or more time with their families. Millions of women and people of color are disproportionately hurt by this administration’s anti-worker position.

This rule went through more than two years of extensive stakeholder engagement and received nearly 300,000 public comments, most of which were in support of the proposed rule. Enough is enough—the time for fair pay for extra work is now. America’s workers have waited too long.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is 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 and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.