S4551Referred to Committee

Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2026

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-05-18
Introduced
27
Cosponsors
S
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Bernard Sanders
Bernard Sanders
Independent · VT · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (27)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

2026-05-18

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

The bill would set a minimum salary level that salaried workers must earn to be classified as executives, administrators, or professionals who don't qualify for overtime pay, and would automatically increase that threshold each year to keep up with inflation. Currently, employers can classify many salaried workers as exempt from overtime rules even if they earn relatively low salaries, but this change would require them to pay overtime to salaried workers below the new threshold. The automatic annual updates would mean the salary requirement would grow over time without Congress having to pass new laws each year.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4551 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4551 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to establish a minimum salary threshold for bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees exempt from Federal overtime compensation requirements, and automatically update such threshold each year, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 18, 2026 Mr. Sanders (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Warren, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Markey, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Booker, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Welch, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kim, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr. Reed, Mr. Lujan, and Ms. Blunt Rochester) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to establish a minimum salary threshold for bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees exempt from Federal overtime compensation requirements, and automatically update such threshold each year, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. MINIMUM SALARY THRESHOLD FOR BONA FIDE EXECUTIVE, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES EXEMPT FROM FEDERAL OVERTIME COMPENSATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) In General.--Section 13 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)(1)-- (A) by inserting ``subsection (k) and'' after ``subject to''; and (B) by inserting ``(except as provided under subsection (k)(2)(C))'' after ``Administrative Procedure Act''; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(k) Minimum Salary Threshold.-- ``(1) In general.--Beginning on the effective date of the Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2026, the Secretary shall require that an employee described in subsection (a)(1), as a requirement for exemption under such subsection, be compensated on a salary basis, or equivalent fee basis, within the meaning of such terms in subpart G of part 541 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), at a rate per week that is not less than the weekly rate of the applicable annualized salary threshold under paragraph (2). ``(2) Salary threshold.-- ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the applicable annualized salary threshold shall be-- ``(i) $45,000, beginning on the effective date of the Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2026; ``(ii) $55,000, beginning on January 1, 2027; ``(iii) $65,000, beginning on January 1, 2028; ``(iv) $75,000, beginning on January 1, 2029; and ``(v) beginning on January 1, 2030, an annualized amount that is equal to the rate of the 55th percentile of weekly earnings of full- time salaried workers nationally, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics based on data from the second quarter of 2029. ``(B) Increased threshold.--The Secretary may establish, through notice and comment rulemaking under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, a salary threshold that is a rate that-- ``(i) is greater than the applicable annualized salary threshold under subparagraph (A); and ``(ii) is calculated based on a data set and methodology established by the Secretary that are capable of being updated in accordance with subparagraph (C). ``(C) Automatic updates.-- ``(i) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the salary threshold first takes effect under subparagraph (A)(v), and annually thereafter, or, in the case in which the Secretary establishes an increased salary threshold under subparagraph (B), annually after…
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establishing such increased salary threshold, the Secretary shall update the rate of the salary threshold in effect under subparagraph (A)(v) or (B), as applicable, so that such rate is equal to-- ``(I) in the case in which the Secretary does not establish an increased salary threshold under subparagraph (B), the 55th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time salaried workers nationally, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics based on data from the second quarter of the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which such updated amount is to take effect; and ``(II) in the case in which the Secretary establishes an increased salary threshold under subparagraph (B), the greater of-- ``(aa) the 55th percentile described in subclause (I); and ``(bb) the increased salary threshold established under subparagraph (B), as updated in accordance with the data set and methodology established by the Secretary under subparagraph (B)(ii). ``(ii) Nonapplicability of rulemaking.-- Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to any update described in this subparagraph. ``(D) Notice requirement.--Not later than 60 days before a revised salary threshold under this paragraph takes effect, the Secretary shall publish a notice announcing the amount in the Federal Register and on the internet website of the Department of Labor.''. (b) Publication of Earnings.--Not later than 21 days after the end of each calendar quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall publish on its public website, for each week of such quarter, data on the weekly earnings of full-time salaried workers by census region (as designated by the Bureau of the Census). SEC. 3. NONEXEMPT DUTIES LIMIT FOR BONA FIDE EXECUTIVE, ADMINISTRATIVE, OR PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES. Section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)), as amended in section 2(a)(1), is further amended-- (1) by striking ``of a retail or service establishment shall not'' and inserting ``shall''; (2) by striking ``because of'' and all that follows through ``administrative activities,''; (3) by striking ``less than 40'' and inserting ``not less than 20''; and (4) by striking ``such activities'' and inserting ``activities not directly or closely related to the performance of executive or administrative activities''. SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the first day of the third month that begins after the date of enactment of this Act. <all>
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