Obama calls for broader coverage on overtime

WASHINGTON — They’re called managers, and they sometimes work grueling schedules at fast food chains and retail stores.

With those employees in mind, the Obama administration is proposing making up to 5 million more people eligible for overtime — its latest effort to boost pay for lower-income workers.

Any salaried employee who’s paid more than $455 a week — or $23,660 a year — can be called a “manager,” given limited supervisory duties and made ineligible for overtime.

The long-awaited overtime rule from the Labor Department would more than double the threshold at which employers can avoid paying overtime, to $970 a week by next year.

To keep up with future inflation and wage growth, the proposal will peg the salary threshold at the 40th percentile of income.