Stagnant Wages

Obama is acting amid concern over the stagnation of middle- class income, which six years into the economic recovery still hasn’t rebounded to pre-recession levels. The median U.S. household income of $54,500 in February remained $1,500 short of the December 2007 level, at the start of the recession, according to inflation-adjusted estimates from Sentier Research.

When the latest personal income statistics are released next week, economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict they will show the smallest gain in six months, continuing a sluggish trend even as unemployment has dropped and the stock market has soared.

75-Hour Week

Gassan Marzuq, a 58-year-old Kuwaiti immigrant who used to be a manager at a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise in Kingston, Massachusetts, is typical of the kind of worker who would be affected by Obama’s order, though the regulatory change would come three years too late for him.

Marzuq said he often had to work as many as 75 hours a week covering other employees’ shifts without any pay above his $42,900-a-year salary, regularly missing holidays, his children’s birthdays and even his son’s high school graduation.

“I worked my butt off for them,” he said. “I ruined my life with my family because I never saw my kids growing up.”

The franchise owner, Cadete Enterprises, dismissed Marzuq after he complained -- he says in retaliation, the company says because he violated a state law that prohibits managers from sharing in employee tip pools. Nicholas Carter, an attorney for Cadete, said the company encourages managers to hire enough staff to avoid working overtime; Marzuq disputed that.

A federal judge ruled that Marzuq wasn’t entitled to overtime pay because he was a “bona fide executive” under existing regulations, even though the judge found he may have spent 90 percent of his time serving customers.