Edwin Gonzalez

Working Overtime

Working hard would mean getting paid well. So why is it that when we work
longer hours and we dont get paid for those hours we put in. Currently many workers
who work overtime do not receive the pay that they rightfully deserve. President Obama
and other supporting organization are trying to get businesses to pay their workers by
getting lawyers and raising the overtime pay so that those who are getting paid will be
receiving more on order to support their families. However there are some obstacles
that will have to be overcomed, like some businesses deliberately dont pay their
workers or the businesses are small so they cant afford to pay their hard working
workers. Other obstacles are the effects of overtime on the body. Although overtime
does have some negative effects on workers, I believe that the overtime pay is an
incentive for people to continue working.

Over the time there has been a decline in the amount of workers that get paid for
overtime. In the informative article, Overtime updates for American workers long
overdue, by Jana Kasperkevic states that American workers should have their overtime
pay raised. She states about 64% of salaried workers were eligible to get overtime pay
but only 18% are given. What she means is that although that some workers are

eligible to overtime pay they dont receive. Not only that but according to the article,
President Obamas new overtime proposal could make a lot of people happier, by
Jared Bernstein also state that since the fair labor standard act of 1938, it has been
established that if youre an hourly paid worker and you work more than 40 hours a
week you should get paid equally for it. However presently the middle class, no longer
is eligible for overtime pay(Kasperkevic,2014).

President Obama and other departments have been trying to raise the amount
of overtime pay. In the article, Obama: Its Just fair to make workers eligible for
overtime pay, by Christian Parsons explains that Department of Labor can enact
regulation raising from salary threshold for eligibility. Meaning that they want to lower
the bar so that many workers can receive the overtime pay. The Department proposed
the threshold should raise from 960 a week to 1,327, if this where to happen than
workers could approximately gain 50,000 a year(Kasperkevic, 2014). In addition,
according to Bernstein, President Obama introduced an important proposal to update
the rules determining who gets overtime pay in a way that could increase eligibility by at
least 5 million workers. Obama wants to expand the range of eligibility so that more
workers who are in need of the money are able to obtain it. However workers are only
qualified for overtime when theyre weekly salary is below as certain
point(kasperkevic,2014).

Although Overtime can help many families in need of the money, there are some
businesses who refuse or cheat their workers in receiving overtime pay. Some
businesses believe that the increase of the workers wages, the end result would be in

the decrease of profits the business made that month (Parsons,2014). Business
ultimately fear in the loss of profits, which is why they refuse to increase the pay of the
workers. This especially affects the small businesses who dont make as much. In
Addition to, the article, Obamas Overtime-pay boomerang, by Andy Puzder also adds
that Overtime pay has to come from somewhere, most likely from reduced hours,
reduced salaries, and reduced bonuses. In the end its not just businesses who are
being affected by the increase but also the workers.

This may be true for some business who dont make much profits, but I believe
that some business will have a beneficial effect in the increasing of workers wages
during overtime. People will have more money for themselves and thus they will want to
spend it. This not only helps increase the profits in some companies, but the economy
will begin to flourish because of this. Overtime can increase the productivity in goods
which also allow the economy to grow. Stated by Brendan Duke in the article, How
Overtime Reform will Grow the Economy from the Middle Out, he says that
Modernizing overtime rules would help the middle class rebuild our economy in three
ways: First, workers would have extra money and spend it; second, firms would have an
incentive to hire new workers; and third, it would reduce long workweeks, which drain
our future human capital, the key ingredient for future economic growth.

Some businesses dont want to give money to their workers because they have
not much to give, but other businesses intentionally dont give them their rightful pay. In
the article, Teaneck police officers overtime rejected by appeals court, by Erin
ONeill, argues that The union first filed a claim in 2009 under the Fair Labor

Standards Act, saying the township failed to pay proper overtime and did not
compensate officers for "muster time," or time spent at roll calls that occur 10 minutes
before the start of tours and 10 minutes after and time spent "donning and doffing"
uniforms and safety equipment. What the this means is that the officers are getting
cheated off of their pay because the township doesnt count the time the officers are
changing part of their work time. Also, according to the article, More Workers are
Claiming Wage Theft, by Steven Greenhouse explains that federal and state officers
suspect that more companies are violating wages laws than ever before. So, Overtime
will allow those who were cheated off their regular pay to gain what they have lose.

Although overtime can aid families in need of money, there are some health
problems that come with working overtime. Sara Mahuron explains in her article, The
Disadvantage of overtime, that ABC News reported that people working 10-hour shifts
increased their risk of heart-related problems. Over working could put strain on the
body, which could build up and eventually cause heart problems.In addition to, the
article, Health Problems from Working Overtime, by Rick Nauert says that working
three or more hours longer than a normal seven hour day has a 60% percent higher risk
of heart related problems such as death due to heart disease, nonfatal heart attacks
and angina. People who work overtime have a 61% greater chance of getting injured
on the job, and 60% greater chance of experiencing more problems than who works
regular shifts(Mahuron,2014).

Although there are some problems cause by working overtime that affects the
body, there are still some benefits that can even out weight these negative effects. The

work time for workers if they're doing overtime is cut because they would have been
working longer hours. This would allow them to have more vacation time and more time
for the family on the weekends. In the review Overtime work: The Pros and Cons of
Extra Hours, by Ryan Goodrich states that spending additional time in work can keep
you on top of your workload. Sometimes overtime becomes a necessary, which allows
the reduction of outside distractions and can potentially keep you ahead of your work.
So then later on, your work would not be such a burden when the workload increases.
Goodrich also states, Overtime is often the best way to impress management and
show your dedication to ensuring a project is delivered in a timely fashion. This type of
dedication can result in a wealth of benefits in the long run, ranging from promotions to
increased wages.

At this time, workers are still struggling to gain their rightful overtime pay from
their companies. A man named Guadalupe Rangel has worked for many hours, always
doing about 70 hours a week he had not once received any overtime. Until he joind a
lawsuit and found that he stands to receive more than $20,000 in back pay as part of a
recent $21 million legal settlement with a national trucking company. Here in California
a federal appeals court ruling that FedEx had in effect committed wage theft by insisting
that drivers were independent contractors rather than employees. FedEx orders many
drivers to work 10 hours a day, but does not play them overtime, which is required only
for employees. FedEx said it planned to appeal. According to Kasperkevic some
employees set the wages for their works as low as 460 dollars which results in the
workers losing hundreds of dollars a month.

The chart shows how employers have set their workers salary so low, in order to
avoid overtime. (kasperkevic,2014)

Kasperkevic said, President Obama is not blind to the fact that Americans are
not getting paid the overtime they should. In March of this year, he delivered a speech,
saying:

Unfortunately, today, millions of Americans arent getting the extra pay they
deserve.Thats because an exception that was originally meant for high-paid, whitecollar employees, now covers workers earning as little as $23,660 a year. So if youre
making $23,000, typically, youre not high in management. If your salary is even a

dollar above the current threshold, you may not be guaranteed overtime. It doesn't
matter if what you do is mostly physical work like sticking shelves; it doesn't matter if
youre working 50 or 60 or 70 hours a week your employer doesn't have to pay you a
single extra dime.

Now currently, as of March 2014, Not only is President Obama supporting the
increase fo wage and overtime but also Governor Jerry Brown of California. Obama
ordered to increase the wages of the workers to 10.10 an hour, the minimum wage that
he wants to extended to the whole world (Parsons. 2014). In the article, Gov.Brown
signs bill requiring overtime pay for domestic workers, by Shan Li, informs that Gov.
Jerry Brown has signed into a law a bill that mandated overtime pay for domestic
workers in California. He also said that the bill could heap financial burdens on families
who rely on those workers. This would intel that if youre worried about not gaining
overtime pay, President Obama and the department of Labor have really started takling
down on the issues to in the near future, there is no worry about wages being too low
and overtime pay not being met.