WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), issued the following statement on a Texas judge’s ruling striking down a U.S. Department of Labor rule to expand overtime eligibility nationally:
“Earlier this year, President Biden issued a transformative labor rule to expand overtime pay eligibility so that four million workers in America could get paid what they already earned. The Biden-Harris Department of Labor rule would have simply required employers to pay overtime wages to workers who earn a salary of less than $1,128 per week or about $58,600 per year if they are required to work more than 40 hours a week. This rule put money in the pockets of working Americans and stopped unscrupulous employers from trying to get more labor for no pay. Today’s court ruling stripped away that possibility from millions and left in place the Trump Administration’s much lower threshold of overtime pay only applying to workers who earn under $35,500 per year.
“This is just the latest example of Trump and his corrupt party pretending to care about the working class on TV appearances while doing everything in their power behind the scenes to protect corporate profits. Trump himself has admitted to ‘hating’ giving overtime benefits to workers at his own companies, and Project 2025 promises to remove overtime pay in order to maximize profits for employers. Make no mistake: workers should be paid for every single hour of their labor.
“Trump-appointed extremist judges who serve the biggest corporations have once again done incalculable harm to workers and to our democracy by striking down this strong pro-labor Biden-Harris Administration rule. This is exactly why it is so important for the U.S. Senate to take swift action to confirm President Biden’s judicial nominees before Trump takes power once again in January.”
