Biden overtime rule sounds good, but it’s last thing the economy needs

…Biden’s Department of Labor has proposed a “new” rule that would greatly boost the salary threshold for overtime pay. It would make 3.6 million more salaried employees eligible for the benefit by raising the income ceiling to $55,068 from $35,568…

“It’s a huge example of meddling in the business of the private economy,” says Eli Lehrer, president of the R Street Institute, a free-market think tank based in Washington, D.C. “But in addition to that, it’s the last thing the economy needs right now.”

It’s coming at a time when many employers are still reeling from government-forced lockdowns and other effects from the COVID-19 pandemic…

In this case, raising the overtime threshold could very well be inflationary, says R Street’s Lehrer – which is the last thing the economy needs as the country struggles to rein in rising costs.