http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/money/3669681/detail.html
This doesn’t sound so bad:
[b]TheCarolinaChannel.com
Fact Sheet: Overtime 101
Information About New Federal Laws On Overtime Pay
NEW LAW
The new federal law on overtime pay goes into effect Monday, August 23.
The Labor Department refers to the changes as the “FairPay” rules.
OVERALL - WHO DOES IT HELP? WHO DOES IT HURT?
There is significant disagreement about how many people the changes will affect.
The Labor Department says as many as 107,000 workers could lose overtime eligibility but about 1.3 million will gain it.
However, the Economic Policy Institute – a liberal Washington think tank – says 6 million people will lose overtime and only a few will gain it.
The law comes after decades of lobbying by business groups facing major lawsuits about overtime.
Among those are: Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Radio Shack, Rite Aid and Bank of America.
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao says the new rules will help stop needless litigation because they clarify who’s entitled to overtime.
OVERTIME 101
The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act set the current standards for pay and overtime and covers about 115 million workers.
That law requires employers to pay no less than minimum wage $5.15/hour for all hours worked.
For every hour worked above 40 hours in single workweek, the law mandates that employers pay one-and-a-half times the regular rate of pay.
But, that law has always had exemptions for certain professions and classes of workers – meaning some employers do not have to pay time-and-a-half.
WHO GAINS OVERTIME UNDER NEW LAW
Workers earning $23,660 or below automatically must receive overtime now. That raises the income bar.
WHO COULD LOSE OVERTIME UNDER NEW LAW
White-collar workers earning $100,000 or more a year.
In addition, people from a number of professions identified as generally exempt from overtime: pharmacists, dental hygienists, physician assistants, accountants, chefs, athletic trainers with degrees or specialized training, computer system analysts, programmers and software engineers, funeral directors, embalmers, journalists, financial services industry workers, insurance claims adjusters, human resource managers, management consultants, executive and administrative assistants, purchasing agents and registered or certified medical technologists.
Employers are told to make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
NURSES
Registered nurses who are paid on an hourly basis should receive overtime.
Those who are paid on a salaried basis, earning more than $455 a week, no longer have to be paid overtime under federal law.
EMERGENCY WORKERS AND UNIONS
Emergency workers (including police, firefighters and rescue personnel) will continue to get overtime. The new law clearly states those workers cannot be exempted from overtime.
Union workers covered by contracts will not be affected by the change. But organizers say the new rules will make bargaining more difficult when contracts come up for renewal.[/b]
