Smart Talk: Overtime rules; Candidates and energy

What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, September 26, 2016:

In 1938, the Fair Labor and Standards Act was passed, offering security for workers including a standardized forty hour work week, a minimum wage and the elimination of child labor.  The Act also mandated “time and a half” pay for employees working overtime, though this benefit was restricted “line workers” – the nation’s blue collar work force.  But wage and salary stagnation through the last three decades coupled with a steadily rising inflationary rate has led many overworked, white collar salary earners to seek overtime benefits.

In May of this year, the Department of Labor updated overtime regulations to include four million workers.  The ruling includes an increase in the minimum salary requirements to qualify for overtime and automatic updates to compensate for inflation.

Response has been predictably mixed.  Business leaders and regional business chambers predict the overtime rules will be job killers, wringing small business owners of much needed operating capital.   In an April 7^th Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Donald Boudreaux and Liya Palagashvili argue ” . . .instead of paying more workers overtime, many companies will simply cut back their hours or lower their salaries.” 

President Obama said “It’s a move that will boost wages for working Americans by $12 billion over the next ten years.” 

The new rules become effective December 1^st of this year.  On Monday’s Smart Talk, we’ll speak with Scott Fiore, Vice President of Tristarr Staffing and David Black, President and CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC about what these new overtime rules could mean for both small and large businesses in Pennsylvania.  We’ll also talk about the state of job growth in Pennsylvania as well as a forecast of the impact the elections will have on Pennsylvania’s workers.

At the Shale Insight Conference in Pittsburgh last week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he would encourage American energy production and roll back environmental regulations as a way to “make America wealthy” again.  StateImpact Pennsylvania reporter Marie Cusick was at the conference and appears on Monday’s program to discuss what she heard.