STATE LEADERS WHO HELPED BLOCK OVERTIME RULE NEED TO COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVES TO HELP TEXAS WORKERS

Just before Thanksgiving, a federal court order engineered in part by the State of Texas blocked an overtime pay rule that was to take effect Thursday, halting hopes of an improved livelihood for 4 million American workers, including 370,000 Texans.

The Texas AFL-CIO will host a news conference to call on state officials who opposed the rule and filed a lawsuit against it to produce a decent state alternative.

The news conference will take place at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at the Texas AFL-CIO headquarters auditorium, 1106 Lavaca St., in downtown Austin, with other affiliated unions and allied organizations. 

Background: The overtime rule was designed to encourage employers to allow salaried workers to spend more time with their families. Because the rule has been eroded by inflation, the rule now does exactly the opposite, providing incentive for employers to impose long hours at no additional cost. In some cases, the existing rule allows working people to be paid, in effect, a sub-minimum wage.

For more information, see: https://www.dol.gov/featured/overtime