March 13 (Bloomberg) — Danny Felix says he often worked weekends driving a shuttle bus back and forth from a parking lot to Washington's Union Station, pushing his schedule beyond 60 hours some weeks.

Felix, who said he was denied overtime pay, joined other workers and business owners today at a White House ceremony as President Barack Obama acted to make more people eligible for the extra pay.

Worker advocates applauded Obama's focus on the issue. Last week, he requested funding for 300 new Labor Department investigators to ensure that workers are paid what they're due.

"The extent to which people's rights are being violated is really quite extraordinary," said Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington-based non-profit group affiliated with labor. "Surveys say 30 percent of employers are violating minimum wage and overtime provisions."

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