Hey John,

If you work overtime, you should get paid overtime. But that's not how it goes for millions of overworked and underpaid salaried workers across the US, who put in as many as 50 or even 60 hours a week without getting paid an extra cent for all that extra work. 

That's because right now, employers have a simple trick to avoid paying overtime: they just have to call you a manager and pay you a salary as low as $35,000 a year. Then *poof*:  they can get away without paying you any overtime pay when you work over 40 hours a week. They get to make you work for free.

New rules proposed by the US Department of Labor would help close this loophole. Under this proposal, workers earning up to about $55,000 a year would get overtime pay when they work overtime, regardless of whether they're salaried or hourly. About 3.5 million workers would have their overtime protections restored, so they’d get more money, more time, or a little bit of both.

These proposed new rules are currently in the official public comment period, and there's less than a week left to weigh in: all comments are due by Tuesday, November 7th.

We know all the big corporate lobby groups are going to do whatever they can to block these new rules. They like their loopholes, and they don't want them to go away. Of course not: it’s good for them when they can get their employees to work for free. So we need to make sure the government hears from us, too.

The Department of Labor is collecting official public comment about their new overtime proposal. Will you take two minutes to submit a comment in support of restoring overtime protections for 3.5 million salaried workers?

After you follow the link, click on the blue button that says "Comment" and then type to leave your comment.

Submitting an official comment is quick and easy — and it’s an important way to make sure your voice is heard in support of restoring overtime protections. Here are some quick notes you can use to write your official comment. 

➡️ Americans are overworked and underpaid – and it’s time to change that by restoring overtime protections. Right now, less than 15% of full-time, salaried workers have overtime protections, compared to over 60% in the 1970s. That means millions of salaried workers are putting in hundreds of extra hours a year, without any extra pay.

➡️ The erosion of overtime has been terrible for the economy. If employers get to make people work extra hours without any extra pay, that’s exactly what they’ll do. And that means less money and less time for people working salaried jobs, more money for wealthy employers, and fewer jobs for everyone else. The result: fewer jobs, less time with family, reduced consumer demand, and a slower economy.

➡️ The proposed rules would be a major step forward to fulfill President Biden’s vision of growing the economy from the middle out by making sure millions of American workers get more money, more time, or a little bit of both. But the Department of Labor should go further and make the rules even stronger to protect millions more workers. 

➡️ If overtime protections were updated to match what they were in the 1970s, every worker making less than about $85,000 a year would get overtime pay when they work overtime hours. I urge the Department to raise the overtime threshold further than has been proposed, provide an even bigger boost to millions of American workers, and grow the economy from the middle out.

You can just copy and paste these points into the comment box, but the more you personalize your message, the more impact it will have.

This is a rare opportunity to directly weigh in with the government on an important federal policy. Let’s get it done.

Please take two minutes to submit a comment in support of restoring overtime protections for 3.5 million salaried workers.

Follow this link, then hit the blue "Comment" button to submit your official public comment in support of restoring overtime protections.

Thanks for your support.

— Team Civic Action