GOP Praises Overtime Overhaul, but Democrats Say Workers Will Get Pay Cuts

[Cannikin]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans on Tuesday embraced election-year revisions to the nation's overtime pay rules, saying changes to an earlier Bush administration plan will take away extra pay from far fewer white-collar workers.
But Democrats questioned those claims, pointing to a lengthy list of jobs that the regulations, released Tuesday, say are generally ineligible for overtime. The administration, said Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, "simply is not trustworthy on the issue."

Those generally exempt from overtime include a broad range of professionals: pharmacists, funeral directors, embalmers, journalists, financial services industry workers, insurance claims adjusters and human resource managers. Others are management consultants, executive and administrative assistants, dental hygienists, physician assistants, accountants, and chefs.

Even athletic trainers with degrees or specialized training, computer system analysts, programmers and software engineers are generally exempt.


FULL STORY:
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAG2U7JATD.html

[papau]

1. the WH is saying 100000 lose OT under new rules - what rule

change causes the loss of OT?

[Warpy]

2. They've tried for years to exempt nurses

...from overtime pay by calling us "supervisors" because there are ancillary personnel on the floor whose services we request from time to time. You know how well that went over. Now they're trying with this idiotic set of overtime exemptions.

Get ready for hospitals near you to run out of staff very quickly. You'll either have to be at death's door or make an appointment months in advance to be hospitalized if they try to take awy overtime.

Most hospitals are already using forced overtime, requiring exhausted nurses to work extra 12 hour shifts to cover up short staffing. Expect a mass exodus from this already critically short supplied profession if the overtime pay dries up.

[papau]

3. I agree - but a "fix" for hourly nurses only is in -t other changes

I have noticed are:

Requirements are dropped that workers not devote more than one-fifth of their time to activities unrelated to their main job.

"Creative professional employees" will have to do work "requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor," but will no longer have to "consistently exercise discretion and judgment."

A new computer employee exemption that seems to include any computer related work other than working with productivity software.

Now the fix for Registered nurses is only that those who are paid on an hourly basis should receive overtime pay. However, registered nurses who are registered by the appropriate State examining board generally meet the duties requirements for the learned professional exemption, and if paid on a salary basis of at least $455 per week, may be classified as exempt - which is the screwing they wanted to make!