HARRISBURG – Today, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) voted to lift the salary threshold below which Pennsylvania salaried workers would automatically receive overtime pay. In response, Keystone Research Center executive director Stephen Herzenberg has issued the following statement:
“We applaud the IRRC decision today to restore the 40-hour workweek for lower-paid Pennsylvania salaried workers and to make sure those workers making up to $45,500 get paid fairly when they do work overtime. About 200,000 Pennsylvania salaried employees will benefit from the updated overtime threshold compared to the new federal rule that went into effect earlier this month ($34,568 annually), including 82,000 newly eligible for overtime pay and the rest getting strengthened overtime protection (they should be paid overtime now but often are not; since their salary is below $45,500 it will now be crystal clear they should get overtime).”
“Today’s vote is a culmination of an effort by Governor Tom Wolf recommended in 2017 by KRC. Even under the new federal rules, these workers are currently paid as little as $12 for each hour they work – including as supervisors in fast food, department managers in discount stores and office managers. Good employers, such as Altoona-based Sheetz, recognize that salaried workers paid decently will repay their employers in loyalty, productivity and service.”
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