Labor advocates have long sought greater protection for a large swath of middle-class workers: salaried employees who are called "managers," yet often do the same routine work as the low-wage employees they supervise.
"There are plenty of managers who may hold the key to the store, but they're mopping up spills and taking orders just like everyone else," said Chris Tilly, director of UCLA's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. "They're spending most of their time doing anything but management."
Rules proposed by the Obama administration would make an estimated 4.7 million of those workers automatically eligible for overtime pay — an attempt to boost conditions for white-collar employees who have seen their earnings decline as they work longer hours.