After further review, it appears that the Bush plan will produce a net increase of 660,000 workers covered under overtime laws. Moreover, the excluded workers will come primarily from such highly-paid, upper-middle-class to rich-class professions as engineers and pharmacists. Perhaps most importantly, it significantly simplifies the regulations which will make application *and* _enforcement_ much easier in the future.
In other words, this action by Bush is pro-worker, pro-Union, and pro-40 hour work week, and the hysterical opposition of the AFL-CIO to this is positively shameful. JDG BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2003 For the first time in half a century, federal regulations proposed Thursday by the Labor Department could drastically change which workers qualify for overtime wages. Nearly 22 million Americans could be affected by new definitions of white and blue collar workers. The changes could cost businesses $870 million to $1.57 billion. The largest impact would be felt by lower-income workers and highly compensated, professional employees. For the first time, employers would be required to pay overtime to as many as 1.3 million lower-income workers who put in more than 40 hours a week. But 640,000 white-collar professionals who now are required to get overtime, such as some engineers and pharmacists, would lose it. (USA TODAY, page B1) . Posted 3/26/2003 9:17 PM http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-03-26-overtime-pay_x.htm Plan would extend low-income overtime pay WASHINGTON (AP) � As many as 1.3 million low-income workers would be eligible for overtime pay for the first time in a proposed overhaul of decades-old labor regulations being released Thursday by the Bush administration. But in a trade-off, about 640,000 white-collar workers such as engineers, insurance claims adjusters and pharmacists who now receive overtime pay could lose it, The Associated Press has learned. The changes being proposed by the Labor Department are confined to a section of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act that defines blue-collar and white-collar workers, and determines who must be paid an hourly rate of time-and-a-half for working beyond 40 hours a week. About 110 million workers are covered by the regulations, which have not been updated in 28 years. It is just one of several changes the administration is pursuing to workplace regulations and programs, including the Family Medical Leave Act, job training programs and unemployment insurance. The overtime proposal is subject to a 90-day public comment period. Final regulations probably will not take effect until late this year or early in 2004. Business groups long have complained that the complex rules, which contain outdated job descriptions and salary levels, require overtime pay for already well-compensated and highly skilled professionals. A surge in overtime pay lawsuits aimed at employers also is a concern. But employers could face $334 million to $895 million in direct payroll costs for the 1.3 million low-wage workers estimated to become eligible for overtime pay in the proposal. Overall, businesses could face costs of $870 million to $1.57 billion to put the changes in place. The benefits of increased productivity and fewer lawsuits could amount to savings of $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion, said Tammy McCutchen, administrator of the Labor Department's wage and hour division. "Our proposal has attempted to simplify and update, to make those rules easier to apply and easier to enforce," McCutchen said. The current regulations are 31,000 words. The proposed replacement is 13,000 words, she said. "Easy, clear rules mean employees will understand when they're entitled to overtime, employers will know what their obligations are and the Department of Labor will be able to more vigorously enforce the law." Union officials have said they would oppose any changes that would cause longer work weeks, because required overtime pay is the only brake stopping many employers from demanding excessive work hours. "We're concerned that these rules could weaken the tradition of the 40-hour work week," said Kathy Roeder, spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO, which hadn't seen the proposal Wednesday night. Workers now are exempt from overtime pay if they earn more than $155 a week, or $8,060 a year, and meet other convoluted, confusing job criteria, such as devoting at least 80% of their time to "exercising discretion" and other "intellectual" tasks that cannot be "standardized in ... a given period of time." Employees who work under collective bargaining agreements negotiated by unions will not be affected by any changes. Also, companies still can choose to pay overtime to exempt workers. The proposal would raise the salary cap to $425 a week, or $22,100 a year, and any worker earning less automatically would be required to receive overtime pay. Jobs most affected by the changes likely would be assistant managers of stores, restaurants and bars, McCutchen said. They would get overtime pay despite their management status as long as they earn less than $22,100 a year. The proposal also clarifies and simplifies definitions of administrative, executive and professional employees that should be exempt from overtime pay. Generally, workers would be exempt under the proposal if they manage more than two employees and have the authority to hire and fire, or they have an advanced degree and work in a specialized field, or they work in the operations, finance and auditing areas of a company. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ===== ----------------------------------------------------------------------- John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country � your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation." -George W. Bush 1/29/03 __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
