Will Republicans oppose effort to restore overtime pay?

Overtime protections have eroded for more than four decades, steadily covering fewer and fewer workers. This means that millions of working people are putting in more than 40 hours per week without being fairly compensated. When Trump abandoned new overtime protections last year, he blocked a major attempt to right this wrong.

Pro-worker members of Congress have introduced the Restoring Overtime Pay Act, dramatically raising the overtime salary threshold — the annual salary level under which salaried workers are automatically eligible for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week. Alongside Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio,) Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has introduced the Senate version of the bill, and in the House, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) is among the measure’s co-sponsors.

The question is, will Washington’s Republican congressional delegation continue to oppose this effort to restore overtime pay eligibility to working families? Last year, instead of protecting workers unfairly denied overtime pay, Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Dave Reichert, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse all voted to end the 40-hour workweek by allowing employers to avoid paying overtime pay by offering “compensatory time” off. That bill passed the House but failed in the Senate.

TAKE A STAND — Please sign this petition urging members of Congress to support the Restoring Overtime Pay Act.

It would more than double the threshold from $23,660 to $47,476, extending critical overtime protection to more than 4 million working people.

As corporations and CEOs continue to enjoy a $1.5 trillion tax giveaway, working families are demanding that we receive the wages we’ve rightfully earned.

The AFL-CIO contributed to this report.