Original Date: September 3, 2018

As we continue to see changes to exempt and nonexempt in states and cities across the country, the State of Pennsylvania is now proposing new overtime rules.  Under the current laws, “employees who are exempt from overtime under the administrative, executive or professional (white-collar) exemptions must be paid on a salary basis at a rate of at least $250 per week ($13,000 per year) and must perform certain duties.”[i]  The current salary threshold is well below the federal rate of $455 per week and far below the administrative and executive exemption levels in New York State.  According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the regulations on exemptions have not been updated since the 1970’s, in the State of Pennsylvania.   Continue to monitor for updates on this changing legislation.

Below are the 4 proposed changes for overtime exemptions in the State of Pennsylvania:

  • “2019: $610 per week ($31,720 per year).
  • 2020: $766 per week ($39,832 per year).
  • 2021: $921 per week ($47,892 per year).
  • In 2022, and every three years thereafter, the salary threshold would be automatically set to the 30th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salaried workers in the Northeast census region.”[ii]

The proposal as stands will also change the duties tests, to better align with the FLSA duties tests at the federal leave.  The current differences/conflicting areas include:

  • “Include language concerning requirements for meeting the white-collar exemptions that appear to impose heavier proof burdens on employers than under federal law.
  • Still do not incorporate a computer-professional exemption, which is available under the FLSA.
  • Do not recognize a highly compensated-professional exemption.
  • Do not harmonize the outside-sales representative exemption with the FLSA.”[iii]

Other areas to remember:

  • Pennsylvania minimum wage is $7.25 per hour (the same as federal)
  • Federal rate of $455 per week ($26,660 per year); watch for potential changes to this rate
  • New York State Administrative and Executive Exemption level changes
    • $832.50 per week on and after 12/31/18
    • $885.00 per week on and after 12/31/19
    • $937.50 per week on and after 12/31/20[iv]

https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/Part142.pdf

  • NYS Minimum Wage (excluding fast food workers) (don’t forget living wage)

[v]

burr min

– Matthew Burr, HR Consultant

[i] https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/pennsylvania-employers-may-see-big-changes-to-overtime-exemptions.aspx

[ii] https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/pennsylvania-employers-may-see-big-changes-to-overtime-exemptions.aspx

[iii] https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/pennsylvania-employers-may-see-big-changes-to-overtime-exemptions.aspx

[iv] https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/Part142.pdf

[v] https://www.ny.gov/new-york-states-minimum-wage/new-york-states-minimum-wage

 

Published by Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR

Matthew Burr has over eleven years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an Industrial Relations Intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company; Burr Consulting, LLC. Prior to founding the consulting firm, the majority of his career was spent in manufacturing and healthcare. He specializes in labor and employment law, conflict resolution, performance management, labor and employment relations. Matthew has a generalist background in HR and provides strategic HR services to his clients, focusing on small and medium sized organizations. He is a retired Assistant Professor of Business Management from Elmira College, an Adjunct Professor at Alfred State University and Collin College. Matthew is also the SHRM Certification Exam Instructor at the college, his students currently have an 80% pass rate on the SHRM-SCP and 92.3% pass rate on the SHRM-CP. Matthew works as a trainer Tompkins Cortland Community College, Corning Community College, Broome Community College and Penn State University. He also acts as an On-Call Mediator and Fact-Finder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State, working with public sector employers and labor unions. Matthew has publications at the Cornell HR Review, Business Insider, New York State Bar Association, Expert 360 (in Australia). In early 2017, he published his first book, “$74,000 in 24 Months: How I killed my student loans (and you can too!).” Matthew has an associate's degree in business administration from Tompkins Cortland Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Elmira College, a master's degree from the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations in Human Resources & Industrial Relations and a Master’s in Business Administration specializing in entrepreneurship from Syracuse University. He currently holds a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) and the Society of Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certifications. Matthew has been featured on CNN Money, Fast Company, Fits Small Business, Magnify Money, My Twin Tiers, Namely, Student Loan Hero, Smart Sheet and CEO Blog Nation.

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