Gov. Whitmer Takes Action to Raise Overtime Pay Threshold for Michigan Workers

LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer directed the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to submit a request for rulemaking to expand the right to overtime pay to more Michigan workers. Changes in federal law are set to extend overtime pay rights to workers making up to $35,500, but even then less than one in six Michiganders will benefit, down from a peak of more than 60 percent of workers.
"In America, hard work should be recognized and rewarded. When I was growing up, that meant you got overtime if you worked more than 40 hours," Whitmer said. "President Obama took the first step towards restoring this right for millions of Americans five years ago, and if his proposed rule had taken effect, workers earning up to $51,000 today would be eligible for overtime pay. Instead, President Trump took a big step backwards when he implemented a rule that leaves 200,000 Michigan workers behind. That's why today I'm directing the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to take action that will extend the right to overtime pay for thousands of Michigan workers. Strengthening paychecks is good for families, good for business and good for our economy. It's time to get it done."
According to the United Way's ALICE report on financially struggling households, families need an annual salary of $61,000 just to afford the basics and support a family of four. Families that live below the ALICE threshold struggle to pay for health care, childcare, car insurance and healthy food for their children.
"Gov. Whitmer's directive to increase overtime pay protections is good for workers and good for Michigan's economy. This directive begins the rulemaking process, which will include feedback from businesses and key stakeholders, and we look forward to their participation as we move forward," said Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Jeff Donofrio.
In 2014, the Obama Administration sought to increase the overtime threshold to $47,476. The Trump Administration abandoned the historic expansion and finalized its own level of $35,568, which leaves nearly 200,000 Michiganders without access to overtime pay.
As a result, more and more states are expanding the right to overtime pay. California is raising its threshold to $62,400 by 2022. New York is raising its to $58,500 by dates between 2019 and the mid-2020's varying by region. Washington State and Pennsylvania are finalizing agency rules to raise it to $79,872 by 2026 and $45,500 by 2022, respectively. Massachusetts has proposed raising it to $64,000 by 2022, and Maine to $55,000 by 2022.
Once the request for rulemaking is submitted, the process to finalize an overtime rule could take between 6 to 12 months.
TAGLINE To view the full request for rulemaking visit this link: gaybe.am/d1.