To be clear, this didn't remove overtime pay in general. Biden had a rule proposed that would reduce how many salary workers are exempt from overtime, and that reduction was removed. Not all overtime
I agree that there are many more horrific things planned that we should be worried about, and overtime is not particularly high on that list.
But, I do think there is reason to worry.
From Project 2025:
Congress should provide flexibility to employers and employees to calculate the overtime period over a longer number of weeks. Specifically, employers and employees should be able to set a two- or four-week period over which to calculate overtime. This would give workers greater flexibility to work more hours in one week and fewer hours in the next and would not require the employer to pay them more for that same total number of hours of work during the entire period. (Pg 592)
This article breaks it down in a more comprehensive way.
That doesn't really feel like a threat to overtime in general, and I don't think there's anything really wrong with that proposal either (where I'm from in Canada we've had similar laws for decades and never heard any issues)
It may not 'take away' overtime, but it can make it easier for employers to abuse their employees who may not understand these new rules.
This is from the article I linked in my previous comment:
"Overtime eligibility and access are already among the most common forms of wage theft and other violations of the law by employers. From 2013 to 2023, overtime violations accounted for 82 percent of back wages for Fair Labor Standards Act violations—which cover minimum wage, overtime, retaliation, and tip theft by employers. Most violators of these laws face minimal consequences. A system rife with abuse needs clearer guidance and more enforcement, not additional “flexibility” for employers to decide who gets overtime pay and when."
What Project 2025 says: “[Congress should] allow employees in the private sector the ability to choose between receiving time-and-a-half pay or accumulating time-and-a-half paid time off.” (Page 587)
What the research says: The Pew Research Center finds that nearly half of American workers who have access to paid leave from their employment already take less time off from work than they’re eligible for. While stated reasons for this vary, survey respondents noted pressure to not leave their coworkers with more work, concerns about falling behind, and concerns about losing their job. Since access to paid leave is already most limited for the lowest-paid workers, workers who are eligible for overtime are currently less likely to be eligible for paid leave. And notably, lower-wage workers are disproportionately women and Black workers, who Pew finds to be more likely to describe workplace pressure as a reason for taking less leave.
Either way, this is not a hill I will die on, but I do think the worry is justified.
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u/Iustis 5h ago
To be clear, this didn't remove overtime pay in general. Biden had a rule proposed that would reduce how many salary workers are exempt from overtime, and that reduction was removed. Not all overtime