Do the math:

Under new U.S. Dept. of Labor proposals, blue-collar workers making upwards of $45 or more an hour will still be eligible for overtime pay, but white-collar workers making more than $10.50 an hour will not.

More specifically, white-collar employees get stiffed if they work for management, have high skill levels, need college educations or use imagination or talents in their work.

Wow. Plumbers will make $67.50 an hour in overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week, but skilled, educated, imaginative and talented white-collar workers get their same hourly pay for overtime.

Those proposed revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act just make you want to drop out of school, get a tattoo, don a hard hat, scratch your ass and pick your nose. (6 APRIL 2003)