
Optimist Economy· Staffel 2· Folge 17
No Overtime for the Supervisor of Sandwiches
Dienstag, 19. Mai 2026 · 49 min
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Shownotes
It wasn’t just hourly factory jobs that were supposed to come with a 40-hour workweek. Even salaried jobs were supposed to get overtime pay, though very few do do anymore. Overtime protections are the only legal mechanism enforcing work-hour limits, and for 50 years, the salary threshold that determines who qualifies to receive overtime has been left to erode. Employers found another workaround too: just call the sandwich maker a "sandwich manager." Now, the new no-tax-on-overtime deduction isn't protecting workers — it's rewarding the kind of overwork it was overtime was originally designed to punish. Fixing the law governing overtime would be a huge and instant boost not just to the U.S. economy, but to our work-life balance.
Chapters:
Announcements
Retcon: Economic data reliability
Terms & Conditions: Tenterhooks; Perquisite
Big Pilcrow: Overtime
Executive Orders: Badge of shame for working past 40 hours; more colorful cars
Spiritual Sponsors: Awesome first bosses; Faraday e-bike
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