Not included are certain exempt workers with unique knowledge, such as scientists working at national research institutes.

These critics say the rules are full of revised language that makes it easier to exempt workers in this group.

Another common element of the proposals - exempting workers' own retirement savings from taxes - would have the same effect.

The rules are complex, but generally exempt workers are executives, professionals, or sales staff.

At Gerling, the company adopted a less-generous pension plan in 1998, but exempted workers already employed.

The rules largely exempt workers earning more than $100,000 from overtime pay, although those with union contracts calling for overtime will continue to be eligible.

Exempted workers include:

Still, an employer cannot simply exempt workers from the FLSA by calling them independent contractors, and many employers have illegally misclassified their workers as independent contractors.

Their report said that but for a provision involving very low-paid supervisors, every change the Labor Department made had expanded the reach and scope of rules that exempted workers from overtime coverage.

Also, Statutory Instrument 1999/3372 had amended regulation 20 to exempt workers whose work was but partly unmeasured, so working time and night work control applied only to unmeasured or predetermined time.

Some Are Exempted In addition, the proposed amendments would exempt workers, like architects, who use computer-aided design terminals, as well as stock traders, who use terminals to check stock prices, but whose occupations do not involve entering large amounts of data.

Jared Bernstein, a co-author of the study by the Economic Policy Institute, said, "The new rules are structured in such a way as to create a very strong incentive for employers to exempt workers from overtime protection, primarily by converting hourly workers to salaried workers."

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 originally included health care workers from the protection of federal labor law, but the Taft-Hartley Act amendments exempted workers employed by non-profit health care organizations from the law in 1947.

Mr. McIntosh said he and Representative Tim Hutchinson, Republican of Arkansas, had drawn up legislation that would exempt workers who made from $4.25 an hour, the current Federal minimum wage, to $5.15 an hour, the proposed increase, from paying Federal payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare.