The president's new overtime benefits won't apply to Hill staff

This week, President Obama proposed new workplace rules that would make employees salaried at up to $50,440 eligible for overtime — but the president's largesse won't be available to one key group of workers: congressional staff.

As Roll Call reports, the legislative branch operates under its own labor rules, so the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment, the Office of Compliance, and the House Employment Counsel would have to explicitly update their guidelines to apply the new overtime policy to Hill workers. So far, none of the three have indicated they have any intention of doing so.

However, individual representatives can adjust overtime benefits for their own staffers at will. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), for instance, has announced she plans to increase her office's overtime cap from $50,000 to $50,440 to match the president's figures.

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