Pa. Attorney General fights changes to overtime calculation for workers

Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro is opposing a proposal by the U.S. Department of Labor that would change the method employers use to calculate overtime.

Shapiro and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a letter to the Department of Labor on Dec. 6, arguing that the department’s proposed expansion of the application of the fluctuating workweek method compromises worker safety, reduces workers’ compensation for overtime work, and makes it more difficult for employers to comply with fair labor laws.

“The proposal by the U.S. Department of Labor we are fighting today would, if approved, be another benefit to companies at the expense of workers in Pennsylvania and throughout the country,” said Shapiro. “It would also violate labor laws…”

Under the fluctuating workweek rule, employers can agree to pay a limited class of employees, whose hours fluctuate from week to week, a fixed salary for all hours worked.

Thus, rather than receiving an hourly wage, those employees’ regular rate of pay is calculated by dividing the employee’s fixed salary by their total hours worked. Employers then pay those employees an additional half of their regular rate for each overtime hour worked, instead of the standard “time and a half.”

The attorney general argues that the DOL’s proposed rule undermines the Fair Labor Standards Act, which was enacted in 1938 and ensures that employees are fairly compensated for working more than 40 hours per week.

Other attorney generals participating in this letter are from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

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