Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the proposal by President Obama and the Department of Labor to extend overtime pay to nearly five million workers – 290,000 of them in New York State. The proposal would guarantee overtime pay to most salaried workers earning less than an estimated $50,440 next year.

“Even as we continue to recover from the Great Recession, with an unemployment rate lower than at any time since 2008 and millions of jobs created under the leadership of President Obama, many Americans continue to work harder and for more hours for wages that remain the same or have even declined. Part of the problem has been the refusal of some companies to compensate their salaried employees for overtime work.  By increasing the income level under which workers are automatically paid for overtime work, President Obama will allow 4,680,000 American workers – 290,000 of them in New York State –  to finally receive the wages they have earned. This decision reaffirms our respect for the dignity of work and the right of every worker to earn fair wages and benefits. I am hopeful that both the federal government and individuals states will continue to support workers by increasing the minimum wage to a living wage, enforcing laws that protect the rights of workers to bargain collectively, and allocating resources for job training and skills development.”

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives, a member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as the Committee on Ethics and the Committee of Small Business. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.