Overtime regulations.(Brief Article)

Report on Literacy Programs, September, 2004

* Overtime Regulations: The Bush administration's controversial overtime rules took effect Aug. 23, despite thousands of letters to the Labor Department, heated legislative debate and loud complaints from economists and labor experts who said the new regulations fail to clear up ambiguity. The rules, which were proposed last spring, raise the salary bar below which employers must pay time and a half, from $8,600 to $23,660 a year.

In addition, they change the criteria that determine who qualifies for overtime pay. All of this has touched off heated debate, with the administration claiming the rules will expand eligibility for overtime, while worker advocacy groups claim just the opposite. Contact: U.S. Labor Department, (866) 4-USA-DOL, www.dol.gov.