U.S. to double overtime payment

The U.S. Labor Department on Wednesday issued a rule to increase the overtime protection for workers, as the country suffered a continuing shrinking of the middle class.

The rule will increase protection of over 4.2 million workers by doubling the payment threshold for working over 40 hours a week from current 455 U.S. dollars per week to 913 dollars per week, said the Labor Department.

The threshold will be automatically improved every three years from January 1, 2020, according to the rule, which will come into effect on Dec. 1, 2016.

The rule has drawn intense oppositions from Republicans and some business criticizing the rule for significantly raising labor cost and hurting the U.S. economy. Some Republican Congressman said they are planning to block the implementation of the rule.

The rule is expected to boost wages for workers by 12 billion dollars over the next 10 years, said the White House, adding overtime protections in the United States has eroded as a result of inflation and lobbyists' efforts to weaken them over the past 40 years.

The U.S. middle class has been losing ground since 2000, as the share of middle class to the whole U.S. population has fallen from 55 percent in 2000 to 51 percent in 2014, said a survey by Pew Research Center earlier this month. Enditem