CONGRESS FOR VOTERS

Mark Takano (D-CA)

Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2026

H.R. 8868 · House bill Labor and Employment

A Democratic bill with 36 Democratic cosponsors · See all 36 cosponsors

Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

In committee

Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.

The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.

Its path through Congress

  1. Introduced
  2. In Committee

What this bill would do

The Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2026 aims to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. It establishes a new minimum salary threshold for executive, administrative, and professional employees who are exempt from federal overtime pay. This threshold begins at $45,000 and increases annually through 2029 before moving to a system based on national earnings. After 2030, the threshold will be updated annually based on the 55th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salaried workers. The bill also changes certain duty requirements for these employees.

Yes· 3 of 9

  • Scored +6

    Would middle-income households be better off under this?

    Directly benefits salaried middle-class workers by raising the minimum pay required for exemption from overtime.

  • Scored +6

    Does this raise the lowest wage an employer may pay?

    While not a minimum wage for all, it effectively raises the minimum salary required to be exempt from overtime pay.

  • Scored +5

    Is this likely to lift people out of poverty?

    Increasing the salary threshold for overtime exemptions likely increases earnings for many lower-to-middle management workers.

The opposite

  • Scored -6

    Would business owners be better off under this?

    Imposes higher payroll costs through either higher salaries or additional overtime payments.

  • Scored -5

    Does this make it easier to run a small business?

    Increases labor costs for small businesses by raising salary thresholds for exempt employees or requiring overtime pay.

  • Scored -3

    Does this leave more decisions to the states?

    Imposes a federal standard that may supersede more lenient state-level salary thresholds.