After months of criticism from Democrats and labor groups, the Bush administration is making changes to its proposal for revisions to the rules governing overtime, the Associated Press reports.

Under a revised version of the new overtime regulations, police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, other "first responders," and more lower-wage workers would be eligible for overtime, according to the AP.

The report is based on interviews with Republican officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The officials tell the news service that under the new rules, workers earning less than $23,660 a year would be eligible for overtime, up from $22,100 under the initial draft.

The revised regulations would also increase the salary threshold for the definition of "highly compensated" to $100,000, instead of the $65,000 threshold in the initial proposal.

White House officials tell the news service about 107,000 white-collar workers would lose overtime eligibility under the rule.

Democrats said more than 8 million white-collar workers would have lost overtime eligibility under the fules of the initial plan. Since the Bush administration announced its plan to overhaul the Fair Labor Standards Act in March 2003, Democrats in Congress have been fighting to block the changes that would take away overtime eligibility.

The final rules governing overtime were expected to be published by the end of March, but the rules were delayed while under review at the Office of Management and Budget.

Update: The Department of Labor has launched a new webpage with details about the new rules. The page includes links to fact sheets, the regulations, and other resources.

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• Associated Press article, via USA Today