MassBudget: Modernizing Massachusetts overtime law would protect 435,000 modestly paid workers

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. May 2, 2019 Modernizing Massachusetts overtime law would protect 435,000 modestly paid workers Bringing the Massachusetts overtime law into the 21st century would protect precious time off the job for 435,000 modestly paid, salaried workers in the state. Both the Massachusetts Legislature and the Trump Administration's Department of Labor (DoL) are considering updates to the dollar threshold below which salaried workers gain automatic overtime protection. Bills currently before the Massachusetts Legislature would modernize the state's overtime law, according to a new Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) report, It's About Time: Modernizing the Massachusetts Overtime Law Would Help 435,000 Salaried Workers. Under federal law, salaried workers who make below $455 per week are automatically eligible for overtime pay - 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for the first 40 hours. Not only is this federal threshold below the poverty level for a family of four in Massachusetts, but it is also less than what a worker would make working 40 hours per week at the state's minimum wage - $480 per week. "Many salaried workers in Massachusetts currently have to work long hours without being compensated for overtime," said Jeremy Thompson, Senior Policy Analyst and author of the report. "Weak, outdated, and unclear state and federal overtime laws make it easy for employers to require salaried workers to work overtime without paying them more than if they had worked 40 hours." The Massachusetts proposals would set the salary threshold at twice the state's minimum wage by 2024 and would peg the threshold to inflation so it can keep pace with cost of living changes. The DoL proposes to set the salary threshold based on what the lowest-paid, salaried workers in the lowest-cost region of the country (the South) earn, and it would not peg this threshold to inflation. The DoL proposal would cover 330,000 fewer workers than the Massachusetts bills by 2024.  "When workers give up scarce personal time for their jobs, they deserve to be fairly compensated for that time," said Marie-Frances Rivera, President of MassBudget. "In a high-cost state like Massachusetts, the proposed federal rules would leave hundreds of thousands of salaried workers behind." Read the report here http://massbudget.org/report_window.php?loc=Its-About-Time.html. The Trump DoL proposal is open for public comment through May 21, 2019. Readers who wish to submit comments to the U.S. Department of Labor can click  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/03/22/2019-04514/defining-and-delimiting-the-exemptions-for-executive-administrative-professional-outside-sales-and. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by mrivera@massbudget.org in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Informational Seminar - Nov 16

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its much-anticipated final rule changing the regulations for the so-called "white collar" exemptions under the FLSA, and significantly increasing the minimum salary level necessary for employees to be properly classified as exempt executive, administrative, and professional employees.

The final rule and its increased salary requirements will take effect on December 1, 2016. 

The new regulations will:

• Increase by slightly more than double the minimum salary level for exempt "white collar" employees from $455/week ($23,660/year) to $913/week ($47,476/year);
• Raise the highly compensated employee ("HCE") threshold from $100,000 to $134,004; and
• Automatically update every three years (1) the minimum salary level to the 40th percentile of full-time salaried workers in the lowest income region of the country; and (2) the HCE threshold to the 90th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally.

No exception is made for small businesses. The final rule does not make any changes to the duties tests for executive, administrative and professional employees. The final rule also allows for up to 10 percent of the minimum salary level for non-HCE employees to be met by non-discretionary bonuses, incentives, or commissions, if these payments are made on at least a quarterly basis.

As a practical matter, these changes to the "white collar" regulations mean higher wages to employees, higher wage costs for employers, and likely increased exposure and risk to employers in wage and hour cases.

On November 16, 2016 at 8:00 AM at Dean College in the Campanella Board Room in the Campus Center. Attorney Michael Doherty will examine upcoming changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act regulation, which will go into effect on December 1, 2016. The new regulations will have a significant impact on whether will be eligible to earn overtime pay or whether they will be considered "exempt". 

United Regional
Chamber of Commerce

The Department of Labor has estimated that the upcoming changes will affect approximately 4.2 million employees across the country. Program attendees will learn about the current status of the regulations, the factors governing whether an employee is considered exempt from overtime laws, how the current regulations will change on December 1, 2016, and what employers can do now to prepare for the changes.

For complete information and details, visit The United Regional Chamber of Commerce's website at www.unitedregionalchamber.org or call 508-222-0801.

• The US Dept of Labor page for the FLSA can be found here  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa
• Original doc from 1938  https://templatelab.com/fair-labor-stand-act/

Plenty of snow

For the first round of shoveling on Sunday, actually when I fired up the Sear Craftsman snow thrower for the first time, we had almost a foot in the middle of the driveway. It had drifted higher against the garage door but that is normal.

The schools will open 2 hours late today to provide time for the sidewalks and parking lots around the school properties to get cleared. There is no budget for overtime to clear the snow on the off hours.