A labor ministry advisory panel tasked with examining workplace regulations adopted a proposal Wednesday that would allow employers to withhold overtime pay from certain white-collar workers.
The ministry plans to submit a bill to the next regular Diet session in January that will include changes to the Labor Standard Law, which sets legal limitations on working hours to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week.
The proposal calls for a so-called white-collar exemption for certain managers whose results are difficult to evaluate in terms of hours worked.