Dr. Jared Ashworth Conducts Q&A with the Los Angeles Times about the Overtime Pay for Americans

Nearly 4 million Americans were set to qualify for overtime pay under a new federal rule, but a federal judge has blocked the rule from going into effect as planned. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the rule would have doubled the annual salary threshold, which generally determines who qualifies for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. Dr. Jared Ashworth, Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and Management assistant professor of economics, told the Los Angeles Times the Obama administration proposed the new rule because “the current $23,660 threshold had not kept up with inflation” and “to increase the take-home pay for these workers.” The rule an into opposition when a U.S. District Judge issued a preliminary injunction against the rule in late November, essentially siding with a coalition of business groups and 21 states that contended the Obama administration overstepped its authority in issuing the new rule. In the Q&A Ashworth said, “With the increased overtime regulation does come increased overhead. This would increase their expenses of having to deal with more regulation, more red tape, and it’s a fairly salient argument they have.” Read more.