Obama: ‘Relatively Soon’ I’ll Use Exec. Order To Stop Companies from ‘Cheating’ on Overtime

STEIN: “One thing you could actually do right now with the stroke of a pen is to require companies to pay overtime to people who make less than a certain salary and work more than 40 hours a week. Senate Dems have said set that threshold at $57,000 a year, House Dems, I believe, want it even higher than that. Considering the underlying objectives of your economic vision here, how big are you going to go?”
OBAMA: “Well, I’ll tell you when we announce it.”
STEIN: “Why not now?”
OBAMA: “But you’re making an important point generally though. What we’ve seen is, increasingly, companies skirting basic overtime laws, calling somebody a manager when they’re stocking groceries and getting paid $30,000 a year. Those folks are being cheated. And what we want to make sure of — and we’re working with Tom Perez, our secretary of labor, to set a standard that is fair and that acknowledges the history of people getting paid their fair overtime wages.”
STEIN: “Any time frame for when we could expect that announcement?”
OBAMA: “It should be relatively soon.”