Statement by the American Federation of Teachers
on EPI Analysis of the Bush Administration’s Proposed Changes
to Overtime Laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Economic Policy Institute’s report released this week revealed that nearly 8 million working Americans will lose their right to overtime protection under proposed Department of Labor rule changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  These changes will not clarify or update the law, but strip basic working rights that Americans have fought for since the beginning of the 20th century. 

Since its passage more than 65 years ago, the FLSA has guaranteed working people in the United States the right to overtime pay for each hour worked beyond 40 in a week.  The proposed Department of Labor changes would sharply limit the type of workers who can qualify for overtime pay.  Millions of Americans and thousands of AFT members serving as healthcare professionals, paraprofessionals, and state and local public employees could lose overtime pay on which they and their families rely. 

With the economy faltering and unemployment growing, our government needs to do more to help -- not hurt -- workers’ ability to earn livable wages.  The proposed rule changes would not spur economic growth and could actually encourage businesses to hire fewer people, forcing current employees to do more work.  The EPI’s analysis that these proposed FLSA changes will harm workers is particularly disturbing coming on the heels of a proposal by leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives to replace workers’ overtime pay with comp time.

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The AFT represents more than 1.3 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, paraprofessionals and other school support employees, higher education faculty, nurses and other healthcare workers, and state and local government employees.