COLUMBUS – Vice president Joe Biden is coming to Columbus, where he is expected to announce a change to labor regulations that could mean raises in pay for more than 4 million salaried workers.
Biden is scheduled to make remarks at the Arena District headquarters of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream where he will reportedly unveil new rules from the Labor Department that will extend overtime protections to 4.2 million more Americans who are not currently eligible under federal law
The policy changes are intended to counter an erosion in overtime protections, which date from the 1930s and require employers to pay 1 ½ times a worker’s regular salary for any work past 40 hours a week.
In the fast food and retail industries in particular, many employees are deemed “managers,” work long hours, but are barely paid more than the people they supervise.
The rule, which takes effect on Dec. 1, doubles the salary threshold — from $23,660 to $47,476 per year — below which most salaried workers are guaranteed overtime, according to the White House.
The Obama administration claims the change would boost wages for those workers by $12 billion over the next 10 years. The new level will be automatically updated every three years.
In Ohio, the change will affect about 133,000 workers, according to a Labor Department estimate.
“This will mean that workers are paid for the hours they work and will help overworked American families restore some balance to their lives, or at least get paid when they are required to put in extra hours,” said Amy Hanauer, executive director of Policy Matters Ohio.
The announcement comes as a major labor union releases a study it says illustrates the pay gap between a company’s highest paid employees and its lowest.
According to the new AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch, the average Ohio CEO made $5.9 million in 2015, 146 times more rank-and-file workers, who earned about $40,334.
“This is a disgrace and we must stop Wall Street CEOs from continuing to profit on the backs of working people,” said Ohio AFL-CIO president Tim Burga.
He claims unfair trade deals have undermined efforts to raise wages and have instead resulted in higher-paying jobs being outsourced.