PRESIDENT OBAMA MAKES REMARKS ON OVERTIME PAY

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE
Remarks by the President On Overtime Pay

East Room

2:27 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody, thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Please.  Thank you, guys.  Please have a seat.

Well, welcome to the White House.  Before I get started, I just want to acknowledge somebody who is working so hard on behalf of America’s workers each and every day, our outstanding Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez.  So give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  There you go.  Tom must have brought some of his family with him.  (Laughter.)

We’ve got a lot of honored guests here.  We’ve got middle-class workers who rely on overtime pay.  We’ve got business owners who believe in treating their employees right both because it’s the right thing to do but also because it’s good for business.  And thanks to the hard work and resilience of Americans like the ones who are here today, our economy has been growing for a number of years now.

Our businesses have created more than 8.5 million new jobs over the last four years.  The unemployment rate is at the lowest it’s been in over five years.  But in many ways, the trends that have really battered middle-class families for decades have gotten worse, not better.  Those at the top are doing better than ever, but for the average family, wages have barely budged.  And too many Americans are working harder and harder just to get by.

So we’ve got to reverse those trends.  We’ve got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just for a few.  And we’ve got to restore the basic notion of opportunity that is at the heart of the American experience:  Opportunity for everyone; the belief that here in America, it doesn’t matter where you started, if you are willing to work hard and act responsibly, you’ve got a chance to get ahead.

So at my State of the Union at the beginning of the year I laid out an opportunity agenda to give more Americans a chance to succeed.  It’s got four parts.  Number one, making sure we’re creating more good jobs that pay good wages.  Number two, making sure that we’re training more Americans with the skills that are needed to fill those jobs.  Number three, making sure every child in America gets a world-class education.  And number four, which is what I’m going to be focusing on today, making sure that our economy rewards the hard work of every American.

Now, making work pay means making sure women earn equal pay for equal work.  (Applause.)  It means giving women the chance to have a baby without sacrificing jobs, or a day off to care for a sick child or parent without worrying about making ends meet.  It means making sure every American has access to quality, affordable health care that’s there when you need it.  So if there’s somebody out there that you know that doesn’t have health insurance, make sure they go on healthcare.gov -- (laughter) -- before March 31st.  That’s a priority.  (Applause.)  And it means wages and paychecks that help to support a family.

Profitable corporations like Costco see paying higher wages as way to reduce turnover and boost productivity.  And I’ve asked business owners to do what they can to give their employee a raise.  As some of you saw, I was at The Gap yesterday -- or the day before yesterday in Manhattan -- and fortunately Malia and Sasha liked the sweaters I bought them.  (Laughter.)  But part of what I wanted to highlight was the fact that, on its own, The Gap decided to give a raise to 64,000 employees across the country.

I’ve now called on Congress to give America a raise by raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.  (Applause.)  And in this year of action, while Congress decides what it’s going to do -- whether it’s going to do anything about this issue -- and I hope that it does, and I know Democrats are pushing hard to get minimum wage legislation passed -- I’m going to do what I can on my own to raise wages for more hardworking Americans.  So a few weeks ago I signed an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.  Today, I’m going to use my pen to give more Americans the chance to earn the overtime pay that they deserve.

Overtime is a pretty simple idea:  If you have to work more, you should get paid more.  And if you want to know why it’s so important, just ask some of the folks here who are behind me.  Nancy Minor works at an oil refinery in Pennsylvania -- Nancy, raise your hand.  There you go.  Yes, give Nancy a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  So for the last 16 years, Nancy has been a single mom raising and educating four kids on her own, and that is not easy, as you might imagine.  She’s been able to do it, though, thanks in part to her overtime pay.

For more than 75 years, the 40-hour workweek and the overtime that comes with it have helped countless workers like Nancy get ahead.  And it means that when she’s asked to makes significant sacrifices on behalf of her company -- which she’s happy to do -- they’re also looking out for her, recognizing that that puts a strain on her family and -- having to get a babysitter and all kinds of things, adjustments that she has to make.  It’s just fair.  It’s just the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, today, millions of Americans aren’t getting the extra pay they deserve.  That’s because an exception that was originally meant for high-paid, white-collar employees now covers workers earning as little as $23,660 a year.  So if you’re making $23,000, typically, you’re 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 stocking shelves, it doesn't matter if you’re working 50 or 60 or 70 hours a week -- your employer doesn't have to pay you a single extra dime.

And I think that’s wrong.  It doesn’t make sense that in some cases this rule actually makes it possible for salaried workers to be paid less than the minimum wage.  It’s not right when business owners who treat their employees fairly can be undercut by competitors who aren’t treating their employees right.  If you’re working hard, you’re barely making ends meet, you should be paid overtime.  Period.  Because working Americans have struggled through stagnant wages for too long.

Every day, I get letters from folks who just feel like they’re treading water.  No matter how hard they’re working -- they’re putting in long hours, they’re working harder and harder just to get by, but it’s always, at the end of the month, real tight.  Workers like the ones with me here today, they want to work hard.  They don’t expect a free lunch and they don’t expect to be fabulously wealthy, they just want a chance to get ahead.

So today, I’m taking action to help give more workers that chance.  I’m directing Tom Perez, my Secretary of Labor, to restore the common-sense principle behind overtime:  If you go above and beyond to help your employer and your economy succeed, then you should share a little bit in that success.  And this is going to make a real difference in the lives of millions of Americans, from managers in fast food and retail to office workers, cargo inspectors.  

And we’re going to do this the right way -- we’re going to consult with both workers and businesses as we update our overtime rules.  We’re going to work to simplify the system to it’s easier for employers and employees alike.  With any kind of change like this, not everybody is going to be happy, but Americans have spent too long working more and getting less in return.

So wherever and whenever I can make sure that our economy rewards hard work and responsibility, that it makes sure that it’s treating fairly the workers who are out there building this economy every day, that’s what I’m going to do.  What every American wants is a paycheck that lets them support their families, experience a little bit of economic security, pass down some hope and optimism to their kids.  That’s what we’re going to be fighting for.  That’s what I’m going to be fighting for as long as I’m President of the United States.

And with that, I’m going to sign this memo.  And I want to thank everybody for being here, especially the folks standing behind me.  (Applause.)

END
2:27 P.M. EDT

COMPANY PAYS PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF CHILD LABOR RULES

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Candyopolis assessed $12,000 in penalties for child labor violations, pays more than $6,700 in back wages following US Labor Department investigations

Various FLSA violations found at 13 candy stores in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The U.S. Department of Labor has assessed a total of $12,000 in civil money penalties against Candyopolis, a retail confectionary chain in the Midwest, after investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found teens at seven stores were allowed to perform hazardous jobs prohibited by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor provisions. The investigations – conducted at 13 stores in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma – also disclosed violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping requirements, resulting in back wages totaling $6,737.40 recovered for 275 employees.

Investigators found that three stores in Kansas (two in Wichita and one in Manhattan) and four in Oklahoma (two in Oklahoma City, one in Enid and one in Norman) allowed minor employees to load and operate trash and box compactors in violation of the FLSA’s Hazardous Occupations Order No. 12, which generally prohibits workers under 18 from operating, loading or unloading paper balers or trash compactors.
Minimum wage violations were found at all 13 stores, resulting in $2,048 owed to 256 employees. The violations stem from the company requiring each employee to pay $8 for uniform shirts from his or her first paycheck, which caused pay to fall below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Overtime violations were found at 11 stores in all three states, resulting in a total of $4,689.40 owed to 19 employees. These violations were due to Candyopolis incorrectly classifying managers as exempt from the requirements of the FLSA. Consequently, managers were paid a salary without being paid the half-time due on the overtime hours worked.

Finally, the company failed to keep accurate records of time worked by employees at 12 stores in the three states, as required by the FLSA.
The Kansas stores investigated are located in Manhattan, Salina, Topeka and Wichita (two). The Oklahoma stores are located in Enid (two), Lawton, Norman and Oklahoma City (two). Both of the Nebraska stores are in Omaha. All back wages owed have been paid in full.

“Businesses that employ minors are legally and ethically obligated to abide by child labor standards, and to ensure minors are protected on the job,” said Susana Rincon, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s San Francisco District Office. “The penalties imposed as a result of these violations are indicative of the Wage and Hour Division’s efforts to combat systemic violations found in the retail industry. We are committed to educating employers about wage laws and to enforcing them. The division will ensure that workers receive their fair and rightful wages, and that minors are protected in the workplace.”

Candyopolis is operated by Meetha Ventures of Fremont, Calif. The Wage and Hour Division’s district office in Kansas City, Kan., initiated the investigations and the division’s San Francisco District Office became involved when systemic violations were found because it has jurisdiction over the company’s corporate office.

The FLSA establishes a minimum age of 18 for workers in those nonagricultural occupations that the secretary of labor declares to be particularly hazardous for 16- and 17-year-old workers or detrimental to their health or well-being. The FLSA also requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, as well as one and one-half times their regular rates for hours worked over 40 per week. Additionally, accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment must be maintained.