Tuesday our nation’s president outlined a proposal that would bring about 5 million workers into the realm of overtime pay.

Any worker will tell you, being paid more for hours worked past 40 is a driving force in people being willing to work those additional hours.

But for many salaried employees, they take the job knowing they will work more than 40 hours, at the same pay.

The move will certainly be a boon for many salaried employees who qualify, but could potentially be a burden on the businesses.

Just like with the minimum wage increase many workers are clamoring for, in order to pay more money, a business has to make more money, or cut positions and benefits.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the move would increase the eligibility from workers making $455 a week, to those making $970 a week, meaning any salaried employee making less than $50,440 annually would be eligible, with some exceptions.

As reported by Reuters, naysayers say such a move will cause the companies to either have to demote managers, cut hours or reduce wages to make room for the additional expense.

Change can be scary, especially when so much of the unknown is involved. But the reality is that companies would also have to make changes in order to comply, and that could mean a reduction in retirement, health and other benefits employees already enjoy.

Additionally it could mean more part time positions being created over full time positions, nixing benefits altogether for many.

Depending on who you ask, change may be needed. Certainly all employees would like to be fairly compensated for the extra hours they log. However, there may be a smarter person out there who has an idea that could provide the right mix of fair pay for a day’s work, without breaking corporate America’s bank account.