Not one but two labor rules created by the Obama administration, to put more money in the pockets of working families, are likely to be undone by the incoming club of billionaires and millionaires also known as the Trump administration. The rules were Obama’s way to try to do something effective for America’s middle class when partisans in Congress refused to do their jobs. They are:
- The “overtime rule,” which would have raised the federally required maximum salary for time-and-a-half overtime pay from $23,660 to $47,892. It effectively gave a much-needed raise to millions of hardworking Americans who deserve it; and
- The “fiduciary rule,” which would have required retirement advisers to always act in the best interests of their clients. (Yes, you read that right.) Currently, your financial adviser can help you make decisions that are worse for you but better for him, and it’s legal.
These common sense and modest reforms would have made life a little better for many Americans currently in the labor force and saving for retirement. The Trump administration’s signaling that these rules will never see the light of day is nothing but a one-two punch to the average American where it really hurts.