Wal-Mart raises salaries ahead of overtime rule

Wal-Mart has decided to raise the salaries of entry-level store managers in preparation of the Obama administration’s overtime rule set to take effect Dec. 1.

CNBC reported that salaries have gone from $47,476 to $48,000 for entry-level managers ahead of the rule from the Labor Department, which makes anyone earning up to $47,500 a year eligible for overtime pay.

The salary cutoff now is $23,660.

Wal-Mart did not say how many employees would receive the raise, which reportedly went into effect in September when the store paid more than $201 million in second-quarter bonuses to hourly employees after 99 percent of its stores met targets for cleanliness, faster checkout times and better service.

The House passed legislation last month to delay the rule by six months to give businesses more time to adjust. A companion bill has also been introduced in the Senate. President Obama, however, has threatened to veto the bill.

Meanwhile, lawsuits challenging the rule are piling up.

Twenty-one states are suing the Labor Department, along with more than more than 55 Texas and national business groups.

The business groups say the threshold is so high that salaried executive, administrative, professional and computer employees, whom Congress meant to keep exempt, now qualify.