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MNA
Joins Overtime Pay National Action Plan
MNA
Position on the Bush Administration’s Proposed Changes to
Overtime Laws
In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requiring
employers to pay workers over time (time and one-half rate) for
work beyond 40 hours in a week. But now, the Department of Labor
(DOL), directed by the Bush administration, is prepared to implement
changes to regulations governing eligibility for overtime pay that
will result in over one million workers—including many senior
nurses—losing the right to overtime pay.
Although
some modifications to FLSA may be needed in order to address the
issue of rising wages, the MNA believes that the proposed changes
go too far.
Possible Effects/Outcomes
Currently, any manager/supervisor earning more that $8,060 per year
is not eligible for overtime pay, and this ceiling clearly needs
revision. The Bush administration’s proposed regulation raises
the ceiling to $22,100, granting approximately 1.3 million more
workers the right to overtime pay. However, other proposed changes
would allow employers who pay workers a guaranteed salary—not
just expected hourly earnings—in excess of $65,000.00, to
exclude employees from the right to overtime pay.
Fortunately,
MNA contracts contain provisions that state the RNs right to overtime,
thus shielding members from the impact of these proposed changes—but
the threat to senior RNs in facilities that are not covered by union
contracts (or whose contracts may not have overtime provisions)
is great.
The True Intent of the Bush Administration
These proposed changes highlight the true intent of the Bush administration:
to weaken the laws and regulations that protect workers. Modifications
to the current regulations may be required by changing times, but
these proposed changes go too far and weaken enforcement of overtime
rights to the extent that regulations become suggestions.
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