This Could Be The Biggest Boost For Work-Life Balance Since …

[Stellar]

Millions of overworked middle-class Americans are on the verge of getting some relief, and possibly a raise, because of a proposed federal rule that you may not have heard about.

Under the rule, workers who make less than $50,400 a year would be eligible for overtime pay (i.e., time and a half) when they work more than 40 hours a week.

Friday is the last day for Americans to comment on the rule, which was proposed by President Barack Obama in June and is under consideration at the Labor Department. The White House hopes to implement the rule in 2016.

"Trust me on this: you'd be very hard pressed to come up with [another] rule change or executive order to lift the pay of this many middle-wage workers," former White House economist Jared Bernstein wrote in The Washington Post this summer. He published an influential paper on the subject after leaving the administration in 2011.

The new rule could also go a long way toward returning some much needed work-life balance to middle-class employees -- from store and hotel managers to cooks to bookkeepers to reporters and editors -- who might see their real hours on the job reduced. Some may wind up getting a raise. Here's a video explainer from the administration:

more: HuffPo

[jonno99]

1. Interesting. I thought the law was already in place (>40 hrs = OT). nt

[mopinko]

2. they declare you a supervisor, and they are exempt.

maybe put you on a paltry salary, and you end up working 16 hr days, 6-7 days a week. that is what the salary level is about. saying unless you pay this much, you are an hourly employee.

[magical thyme]

3. that assumes you work 1 full-time job, versus multiple p/t jobs. nt

[Stellar]

4. They've got more work to be done on that.

Most companies are hiring a lot of part-time workers.