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Fix Overtime For Latinos

Fix Overtime For Latinos

The Obama administration’s proposed overtime rules would benefit millions of Latino workers.

The Obama Administration’s Proposed Overtime Rules Would Benefit Millions Of Latino Workers

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the middle class could use a raise. The Obama administration’s proposed new rule to raise the overtime threshold would do just that. Raising the overtime salary threshold is like raising the minimum wage for the middle class. And like raising the minimum wage, the Latino community would see disproportionately large benefits from the new overtime rule.

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Here are a few numbers showing the impact the new overtime rules would have on Latino workers:

  • 34.4 percent: the percent of all salaried Latino workers—2.1 million total—who would directly benefit from the new rule.
  • $50,070: the new annual salary threshold to guarantee workers overtime pay under the proposed rule, up from the current threshold of $23,660.
  • 15.5 percent: the percent of all salaried workers who would benefit from the new rule who are Latino. For comparison, Latinos make up only 11.6 percent of the salaried workforce but 15.5 percent of all workers who would benefit from the proposed rule.
  • 48 percent: the percent of all Latino women workers who are currently exempt from overtime pay who would gain coverage under the new threshold.

Strengthening overtime rules will ensure that Latino workers are fairly paid for all the hours that they work. Reforming overtime protections is a crucial step in increasing economic security for Latino workers, but it won’t happen on its own. That’s why we need your help. We need to let the Department of Labor know that support for the rule is strong. If you haven’t already, go to FixOvertime.org or MisHorasExtras.org to submit a comment.

BOTTOM LINE: Latino workers make up a disproportionately large percentage of all workers who would benefit from the new overtime rules, but ensuring that a hard day’s work earns a fair day’s pay is good for all workers. More money in the pocket of workers means more money put back into the whole economy.

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