What Happened?

If you work more than 40 hours a week, how you get paid for the extra time could change under more than a dozen bills in Congress, from doubling overtime pay to letting employers offer time off instead of cash. A Congressional Research Service report released Wednesday, Oct. 21, lists 17 bills that would rewrite federal overtime rules, according to a Legis1 review of the report. ​

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, covered workers must get one and a half times their regular pay for hours past 40 in a week. Some groups are left out, including farmworkers, some truck drivers and some salaried managers and professionals.

Only two of the bills have moved. The House Education and Workforce Committee approved the Working Families Flexibility Act 19 to 15 last November, and it is waiting for a House vote. The House debated the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act on Jan. 13 but has not held a final vote.

Why Does It Matter To Me?

The bills would change overtime in several ways:

  • Bigger checks: The Double the Wage for Overtime Act would raise overtime pay to twice your regular rate.
  • Shorter week: The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would start overtime after 32 hours instead of 40.
  • Time off instead of cash: The Working Families Flexibility Act would let private-sector workers bank up to 160 hours of paid time off instead of overtime pay, in a five-year trial.
  • Salaried workers: The Restoring Overtime Pay Act would set a salary floor below which managers and professionals must get overtime, raised automatically each year.
  • Truckers and farmworkers: One bill would end truck drivers’ exemption, and another would phase in overtime for farmworkers, starting after 55 hours and reaching 40 by 2030.
  • Child care: The bill the House debated would keep employer-paid child or elder care out of the pay rate used to figure overtime.

Both Sides, Now

The bills mostly split by party, with Democrats behind the bigger-paycheck and shorter-week bills and Republicans behind the time-off and child care bills. The time-off bill has drawn the sharpest fight. A letter from 44 business groups, including the National Restaurant Association and the National Retail Federation, said it lets employees “choose what best suits their personal circumstances while still receiving full compensation.”

A letter from 19 worker and civil rights groups, including the Economic Policy Institute and the Service Employees International Union, said it would “replace guaranteed overtime pay with a false promise of time off.” They warned employers could deny time off that would “unduly disrupt” their operations.

What Happens Next?

The House returns Monday, Nov. 9, and either House bill could come up for a vote. Any bill that passes the House would still need 60 votes to advance in the Senate and the president’s signature.

The other 15 bills are still in committee. Bills that don’t become law by the end of this Congress on Jan. 3, 2027, would have to be reintroduced.

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