Governor seeks to increase number of workers eligible for overtime pay
About a year after a judge blocked a similar rule on the federal level, Gov. Tom Wolf plans to expand overtime pay for about 460,000 workers in Pennsylvania who currently make too much to qualify for the time-and-a-half pay for extra hours worked.
The governor, making the announcement Wednesday at a Philadelphia grocery store, said the current salary limit to qualify for overtime — $23,600 annually, or $455 a week — means people are not being fairly compensated for working long hours in low-wage jobs.
“It’s simple. If you work overtime, then you should get paid fairly for it,” the governor said in a news release following Wednesday’s announcement. “This important step will put more money into the pockets of hardworking people and will help expand the middle class in Pennsylvania.”
Mr. Wolf’s announcement immediately drew criticism from business groups and praise from labor advocates.
The proposal, which would expand overtime in phases over three years, would raise the amount that certain salaried employees can earn and still qualify for overtime pay. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the state would raise the salary limit to $31,720, or $610 per week.
The threshold would increase to $39,832 on Jan. 1, 2021, followed by $47,892 in 2022, which the Wolf administration estimates would extend overtime eligibility to up to 460,000 workers.
But the proposal’s future could hinge on the outcome of the gubernatorial election, as Mr. Wolf faces multiple Republican challengers in a re-election battle this year. The governor has unsuccessfully pressed the Legislature to pass an increase in the minimum wage, which sits at $7.25 an hour, the lowest allowed by federal standards.
Boosting overtime pay for workers, meanwhile, would need approval from only the SEE OVERTIME, PAGE A-5