DOL and EPI estimates of workers newly covered by raising the overtime salary threshold (in millions)
| Step | Population | DOL (2013*) | EPI (2013) | EPI (2014) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “Wage and salary workers” | 144.2 | 143.9 | 146.3 | |
| (a) | drop self-employed, unpaid, religious, federal workers, and implausible wage earners | -15.7 | -18.6 | -18.6 |
| Subject to FLSA and part 541 | 128.5 | 125.4 | 127.7 | |
| (b) | drop blue-collar, hourly, and FLSA section 13(a) and 13(b) occupation exemptions (agriculture, transportation, and other occupations) | -85.5 | -82.0 | -83.3 |
| Salaried “white-collar workers” | 43.0 | 43.3 | 44.4 | |
| (c) | drop non-EAP-exempt workers and workers whose weekly earnings fall below the current $455 threshold | -14.5 | -14.6 | -15.0 |
| EAP exempt | 28.5 | 28.7 | 29.4 | |
| (d) | drop named occupations | -7.5 | -8.1 | -8.3 |
| Potentially affected | 21.0 | 20.6 | 21.1 | |
| (e) | drop those earning at least the new salary threshold | -16.3 | -15.6 | -15.7 |
| Newly covered by updated threshold | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.3 | |
| Addendum (additions from Table 3) | ||||
| Non-exempt workers with strengthened OT protections | 10.0 | 7.9 | 8.1 | |
| Total number of workers with newly gained OT protections or strengthened OT protections | 14.7 | 12.9 | 13.5 | |
* The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) pooled CPS MORG data from 2011–2013, inflating all wages to 2013 levels.
a. It is important to note that the DOL definition of wage and salary workers differs from that of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Unlike the BLS (2013), the DOL includes self-employed and unpaid workers. To avoid confusion, we adopt DOL’s definition of wage and salary workers for our methodology.
b. Blue-collar workers, as defined by the DOL, are those with probability codes of 0, indicating that no worker in that occupation would pass the duties test in order to be exempted from overtime protections. Hourly workers are all workers who are paid on an hourly basis (only those hourly workers who are in named occupations are not dropped). Workers who make at or above the salary threshold and meet the “duties tests” that define them as executive, administrative, or professional (EAP) are exempt, i.e., ineligible for automatic overtime pay. The occupation groups dropped here represent those FLSA section 13(a) and 13(b) occupations that are automatically exempt from overtime protections. See the technical appendix for more detailed information on what occupations are included in agricultural, transportation, and other occupations.
c. We effectively drop non-EAP-exempt workers here by multiplying workers' weights by the midpoint probability code that is assigned to their occupation. Workers with weekly earnings less than $455 per week (in 2013 or 2014) are dropped from the sample as they are already legally entitled to overtime protections by virtue of the current salary threshold.
d. Those workers in named occupations, or occupations that are not subject to the salary test (teachers, academic administrative personnel, lawyers, medical professionals, and outside sales workers), are dropped. See the technical appendix for more detailed information on how we identify these occupations.
e. Workers with weekly earnings less than $455 per week (in 2013 or 2014) are dropped from the sample as they are already legally entitled to overtime protections by virtue of the current salary threshold.
Source: EPI analysis of Department of Labor (2015, Figure 2) and Current Population Survey Merged Outgoing Rotation Group microdata (CPS MORG)