patrick.net

But what about the most basic need of all—jump-starting the real economy by giving more middle-class Americans a fair shake? You would think that for a Democratic administration, raising the threshold back to where it once was would be a no-brainer, but I have grave doubts that administration officials are heading in this direction. In fact they are likely to raise the threshold only partly, and the Obama administration has not yet grappled with the broader question of how moves such as this are critical to helping to restore America’s middle class. How do I know? Intuition. OK, I admit it, more than intuition.

I’ve had conversations with administration officials about their forthcoming policy changes. And the scuttlebutt out of the Labor Department looks promising—for corporations. Not the middle class.

Fuck and thing was just written today? What does the author think this administration's labor department policy has been up until now?

What about the point of the article, Cap'n?

CL says

What about the point of the article, Cap'n?

What overtime, to be worried about overtime wages we need a larger population worried about working hours that they aren't being paid for. From what I see, of everyone I've seen getting new jobs for the last 6 to 8 years. Every single one of them only give 17 hours at the most, as to avoid having to pay Obamacare premiums.

That's every single job that is not a Whitecollar job. Even simple warehouse jobs now are staffed by agencies who keep people manned full time in warehouse positions but swap them out in micro shifts and no single worker makes more than 17 hours a week. So it's not just fastfood places.

People that are working more than 30 hours are on salary, I don't know about where you are from, but companies can pretty much do with your time anyway they see fit if you are salaried. You can be on call 24/7. All they have to do, is acknowledge their commitment with an office dinner or luncheon from time to time, or just throw that employee a few hundred dollars for their extra $1,000's of work that they put in. And that will count as additional compensation, if you ever try to file a suit.

The name of game now is to compensate employees the least possible. Remember you're competing against the lowest common denominator in the global market. Isn't the global economy great! Also in publicly traded companies you must show the share holders absurdly high quarterly returns...do it by any means possible. Welcome the new "low wage" "gilded age" America!