pay under the overtime rule promulgated on September 27, 2019. (7) Weak overtime protections also hurt the many workers who are forced into part-time jobs but need full-time jobs to support themselves and their families. When employers can no longer overwork employees who are exempt from overtime pay because of lax standards, they will be forced to spread work and hours across their workforce. Restoring overtime protections is especially important in 2023, as the economy of the United States is still recovering from the pandemic and many workers report their employers demanding excessive hours. (8) In 2015, when the Department of Labor proposed an increase to the overtime salary threshold rule under the Obama Administration, it found that the historic range of the overtime salary threshold under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ran from approximately the 35th to the 55th percentile of weekly earnings for all full-time salaried workers. By phasing the overtime salary threshold back up to the 55th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers nationally—which after adjusting for inflation is projected to translate to an annualized amount of $73,551 in 2021 and $82,745 by 2026 (roughly the level of the boldest State overtime threshold increase)—the United States can restore overtime protections to historic levels. 3. 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