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American Morning
Will New Rules About Overtime Pay Leave Some People Underpaid?
Aired July 11, 2003 - 08:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Checking money right now. Will new rules about overtime pay leave some people underpaid? Good question. It's the buzz in D.C.
Andy Serwer is off. He's on vacation. But Gerri Willis is not. She's minding our business.
What gives here?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed an overhaul of overtime legislation and it's very controversial. The people who win here are the people earning $22,100 and less. They will get overtime.
Now, this raises the ceiling from about $8,000 a year, so it's a good thing for people in that income range.
But, look, people in middle income professions, they're going to get hurt here. They may not get overtime. If you're earning $65,000, you may find your job reclassified and you won't be eligible for overtime payment.
HEMMER: Where did this idea start, by the way? Who proposed it?
WILLIS: This comes from the Department of Labor. And they say that these rules are old, they're 50 years old, they need to be rehauled and this is their suggestion.
HEMMER: What was their logic, though, in this?
WILLIS: Well, I think there's a big debate here about small businesses that are trying to struggle through this recession, how can we help them. And this is one of the solutions that the government is proposing here.
Now, you have to understand that at $65,000 or more, there's a big debate over how many people will be affected. The government is saying it's something like 644,000 people. Democrats say eight million people could stand to lose overtime.
HEMMER: Quite a difference there, too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Underpaid?>
Aired July 11, 2003 - 08:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Checking money right now. Will new rules about overtime pay leave some people underpaid? Good question. It's the buzz in D.C.
Andy Serwer is off. He's on vacation. But Gerri Willis is not. She's minding our business.
What gives here?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed an overhaul of overtime legislation and it's very controversial. The people who win here are the people earning $22,100 and less. They will get overtime.
Now, this raises the ceiling from about $8,000 a year, so it's a good thing for people in that income range.
But, look, people in middle income professions, they're going to get hurt here. They may not get overtime. If you're earning $65,000, you may find your job reclassified and you won't be eligible for overtime payment.
HEMMER: Where did this idea start, by the way? Who proposed it?
WILLIS: This comes from the Department of Labor. And they say that these rules are old, they're 50 years old, they need to be rehauled and this is their suggestion.
HEMMER: What was their logic, though, in this?
WILLIS: Well, I think there's a big debate here about small businesses that are trying to struggle through this recession, how can we help them. And this is one of the solutions that the government is proposing here.
Now, you have to understand that at $65,000 or more, there's a big debate over how many people will be affected. The government is saying it's something like 644,000 people. Democrats say eight million people could stand to lose overtime.
HEMMER: Quite a difference there, too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Underpaid?>
