Tech workers lose overtime pay under RSU carve-out
H.R. 8660 — Valuing Employee Stock Today Act · Filed by Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced May 4, 2026 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill clarifies that restricted stock units (RSUs)—a common form of employee equity compensation—should be excluded from overtime pay calculations, just like stock options and employee stock purchase plans already are. The bill argues that RSUs were not explicitly mentioned in the 2000 law only because they weren't common then, and Congress intended the law to cover all equity types. The effect is that when calculating overtime pay, employers can ignore the value of RSUs granted to employees.
Why we flagged it
The bill mechanically narrows the wage base used to calculate overtime pay for a specific class of compensation (RSUs). While framed as a technical clarification, it functions as a wage reduction for workers receiving equity compensation.
What the text implies
- Workers at tech companies and growth-stage firms—where RSU compensation is prevalent—will see reduced overtime pay without any change to their actual work hours or effort. A worker earning $50k salary + $30k in RSUs annually will have overtime calculated on $50k, not $80k.
- The bill retroactively reinterprets legislative intent from a 2000 law (Worker Economic Opportunity Act) to reach a conclusion that was not explicit in that law's text. This sets a precedent for reinterpreting old statutes to accommodate modern compensation structures in ways that reduce worker protections.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
technology companies (Meta, Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc.); growth-stage startups with RSU-heavy compensation; venture-backed firms