A change in federal labor law, originally scheduled to take effect in December, has colleges and universities scrambling to sort out what to do now that a federal judge has blocked the change.
And with the incipient arrival of the Trump administration, expected to be friendly to businesses and against new regulations, the policy may well never take effect.
Under the new policy, salaried employees would have been due extra pay if they worked more than 40 hours in a week.
The new policy, a change in the Fair Labor Standards Act, would have made more full-time salaried employees eligible for overtime pay. Those employees who earned up to $47,000 per year would have been eligible for extra pay for work over 40 hours a week; currently only those who earn up to $23,000 per year are.
Administrators agree that an update in the rule was overdue. While living costs have risen, the salary threshold hadn’t been changed since 2004. But many observers expected a gradual increase, not a doubling.
The new policy was expected to prove especially challenging for small, private colleges, already facing tight budgets, and campuses outside major urban areas, where living costs and salaries are lower and more employees may be affected.
-
GovernmentBlocked Overtime Rule Sows Uncertainty for Colleges
A federal judge’s injunction has forced institutions to either postpone pay increases and adjustments to hourly employment status or proceed as planned — even though the changes may be moot. -
News
Admissions Offices Scramble to Comply With New Overtime Rule
An update to labor law requires colleges to give raises to some employees in the time-intensive field, pay them overtime, or scale back their hours. -
Payroll
Colleges Brace for Impact of Overtime Rule
A change in federal labor law that takes effect in December has institutions scrambling to sort out which salaried employees will be due extra pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week. -
Campus Earnings
What Hourly Higher-Ed Employees Made in 2015-16
Skilled craft workers, including electricians and plumbers, were among the best-compensated hourly employees of colleges and universities, according to a survey released on Monday. -
Academic Labor
What Obama’s Overtime Rule Could Mean for Colleges
The rule will affect more than just postdoctoral researchers at public institutions. Here’s a quick guide to what you need to know about its potential impact. -
Administration
Obama’s Overtime Proposal Could Be Costly for Colleges
The proposal would make more workers eligible for overtime pay, and colleges would feel its impact. It’s unclear, however, how many campus jobs might be affected. -
Compensation
New Survey Documents Pay of Hourly Workers on Campuses
It provides rare salary data on some positions, like research and lab assistants, that exist only on college campuses.
