WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brow, D-OH, has introduced the Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2023 – which makes millions of American workers eligible for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week – ensuring that when workers put in extra hours, they get the extra pay they’ve earned. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-VT, are cosponsors of the legislation.

“If you put in extra work, you should earn extra pay – it’s that simple,” said Brown. “Expanding overtime pay would mean more money in the pockets of working class and middle-class Ohioans who work 50, 60, or 70 hours a week. It’s long past time for overtime work to mean overtime pay again.”

“New Yorkers and Americans all across the country know that recognition and praise for extra hours and overtime shifts doesn’t put food on the table or pay the rent,” said Schumer. “As our economy recovers, it is critical we invest in working Americans getting back on their feet by expanding overtime to pay them what they have earned. Millions of Americans are being cheated out of wages as employers line their pockets. As Leader, I have stood with working Americans and families over corporations and the well-connected. Passing the Restoring Overtime Pay Act will put more money in the pockets of workers and ensure every hour of work put in is valued.”

“If we are serious about expanding the middle class, we must ensure that workers are paid fairly for all the work they do,” said Sanders. “Now is the time to change outdated overtime rules so that businesses can’t shirk their responsibility to pay workers the wages they are owed.”

Right now, fewer than 15 percent of all full-time salaried workers are guaranteed overtime pay. The Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2023 strengthens overtime protections and guarantees that 55 percent of all salaried workers will be eligible for overtime pay. Right now, workers who make about $36,000 per year are eligible for overtime pay. This legislation would immediately raise that to workers making $45,000 per year and raise that salary amount each year for five years until more than half of salaried workers nationwide are eligible for overtime.

Brown was joined on a press conference call he held Wednesday about the legislation by Yvonne, a salaried worker from Northeast Ohio who currently doesn’t get overtime pay for the extra hours she puts in.

“I deserve to be paid for the overtime hours that I’m working. If I got paid what I deserve, then I would be able to afford more of life’s necessities. I would be able to afford my bills and wouldn’t have to worry about something unexpected happening,” said Yvonne. “We need to raise this overtime threshold. We work hard and deserve to be paid for the hours that we are working. What’s fair is fair, and it’s time to give back to the American people.”

The legislation is endorsed by the National Employment Law Project, AFL-CIO, and the nonprofit WorkMoney.

“The current overtime laws are far too easily and often abused by employers who require their employees to work uncompensated hours to the tune of $4 billion per year. The U.S. Department of Labor cannot adequately address these abuses and needs a better law to protect workers from these exploitative practices,” said Rebecca Dixon, President and CEO of the National Employment Law Project. “The National Employment Law Project commends Senators Brown, Schumer and Sanders and Representatives Takano and Adams for stepping up and proposing a bill that will finally protect workers’ time, respect and enable better work-life balance, create new jobs, and raise wages for millions of middle-income workers across the country who are most impacted by this employer abuse. We look forward to working with them to ensure that the Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2023 is signed into law as soon as possible.”

“This legislation will offer long overdue protections to a large swath of working people. The new threshold set in this bill will ensure that workers are compensated for the hours they put in,” said Tim Burga, President of the Ohio AFL-CIO. “With less than 15 percent of full-time salaried workers currently guaranteed overtime pay, the bill would expand that protection to cover more workers who currently have none.”

“Working hard and putting in overtime should mean that you can afford to raise a family anywhere in America, and that’s exactly what this legislation does,” said C.J. Grimes, CEO of WorkMoney. “On behalf of the nearly 300,000 WorkMoney members in Ohio, we thank Senator Brown for introducing common sense legislation that will ensure workers get paid fairly for all of the hours they have worked.”

Brown has led the fight to expand overtime pay for millions of Americans who are working long hours without fair pay. In 2015, he pushed the Obama administration to adopt a new rule that would increase the overtime salary threshold, and helped announce the new rule in Ohio in 2016. This rule was blocked by a federal judge in 2016 who issued a nationwide injunction that effectively denied 4.2 million workers overtime benefits. The proposed rule led more Ohio workers becoming eligible for the overtime pay they’ve earned at companies like Kroger. When the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would have set the overtime salary threshold at $35,000 — down from $47,476 set by the Obama administration — Brown led the fight against the proposal.

In 2017, Brown introduced legislation to guarantee expanded overtime pay, regardless of who is in the White House, and he has continued to push for legislation since then.

Most recently, Brown has urged the Biden administration to take strong action to restore overtime pay protections for millions of workers.

In addition to Brown, Schumer, and Sanders, the Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2023 is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, Cory Booker, D-NJ, Maria Cantwell, D-WA, Bob Casey, D-PA, Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, Dick Durbin, D-IL, Ben Ray Lujan, D-NM, Edward Markey, D-MA, Jeff Merkley, D-OR), Chris Murphy, D-CT, Patty Murray, D-WA, Alex Padilla, D-CA, Jack Reed, D-RI, Brian Schatz, D-HI, Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Ron Wyden, D-OR.

Reps. Mark Takano, D-CA-39, and Alma Adams, D-NC-12, introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.