President Obama this week will seek a broad expansion of overtime pay, the White House confirmed Wednesday.
On Thursday, the president will direct the Labor Department to revamp its regulations to require overtime pay for several million additional fast-food managers, loan officers, computer technicians and others whom many businesses currently classify as "executive or professional" employees to avoid paying them overtime, according to White House officials briefed on the announcement.
The New York Times first reported the move on Wednesday.
Obama's decision to use his executive authority to change the nation's overtime rules is likely to be seen as a challenge to Republicans in Congress, who have already blocked most of the president's economic agenda and have said they intend to fight his proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour from $7.25.
The move comes as a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds the President's approval rating has fallen to a new low.
Cecilia Muñoz, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, said the overtime expansion is a way "to fix the system so folks working hard are getting compensated fairly. That's why we are jump-starting this effort."