Posts tagged overtime
Philadelphia’s largest city workers union schedules strike vote
June 6, 2025 // A social media post urges members of AFSCME District Council 33 to attend a meeting at union headquarters to take a strike vote. One of Philadelphia’s largest labor unions is calling for a strike vote next week in what is being billed as an “Emergency General Membership Meeting.”
New Jersey Copycats California’s Job-Destroying Policy
June 3, 2025 // This proposal comes five years after the New Jersey legislature attempted and failed to codify the ABC test. A controversial bill in 2019–the same year that California passed AB5——failed to pass after loud public outcry from industries and independent contractors themselves. What policymakers could not enact through the law, they’re now seeking to advance through regulation.
Karla Walter and Vincent Vernuccio on Trump Administration Policies Toward Workers
May 27, 2025 // Karla Walter of the Center for American Progress and Vincent Vernuccio of the Institute for the American Worker talked about the impact of Trump administration economic and labor policies on working Americans.
GOP senators unveil legislation to cut taxes on overtime pay in line with Trump’s campaign promise
May 7, 2025 // The Overtime Wages Tax Relief Act, introduced by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), would allow individuals to deduct up to $10,000 in overtime pay from their tax bill. Married couples would be able to deduct up to $20,000. The legislation includes phase-out eligibility based on income. So, once individual adjusted gross income reaches $100,000, or $200,000 for married couples, the deduction is reduced by $50 for every $1,000 in earnings above the threshold.
Trump Labor Department Pauses Gig Worker Rule, Plans Repeal
May 5, 2025 // The announcement, made in an enforcement guidance May 1, brings to fruition plans to rescind the rule—which the Trump administration has signaled in response to pending litigation over the policy. “Agency investigators are directed not to apply the 2024 rule’s analysis in current enforcement matters,” according to a DOL press release. “This approach provides greater clarity for businesses and workers navigating modern work arrangements while legal and regulatory questions are resolved.”
LAFD union boss who blamed lack of funds for limited response to wildfires took home $500,000 in pay and overtime
May 1, 2025 // But even as Escobar was denouncing reductions in workforce and budgets, he was pulling in more than $500,000 a year. He had also helped secure four years of pay raises for the city's 3,300 firefighters with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. He saved the cushiest carve-outs for himself and other top union leaders, a new report from the Los Angeles Times claimed. Most of the union's top brass padded their paychecks with overtime on top of six-figure union stipends.
Commentary 2 Bills Cutting Red Tape for Employee Benefits Advance in House
April 28, 2025 // By amending the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to treat child care and elder care subsidies the same as other fixed-cost workplace benefits such as health and life insurance, the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act (H.R. 2270) would make it easier for employers to provide these benefits without having to include them in workers’ “regular rate” of pay calculations for overtime. This bill was introduced on March 21 by Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., and was reported favorably out of committee on April 9. The Flexibility for Workers’ Education Act (H.R. 2262), introduced by Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, would exclude voluntary, employer-provided “upskilling” opportunities from the “hours worked” calculation used to determine overtime pay, so long as employees do not perform work for their employer during that time and the education occurs outside of working hours. This bill was also reported favorably out of committee on April 9.
Truckers tell Ninth Circuit that California law unfairly bans independent contractor drivers
April 10, 2025 // Though a business-to-business exemption is available under the law, the association says members can't apply because they have to follow contradictory federal law that says trucking companies need to have exclusive control over trucks involved in interstate commerce. “One of the requirements of the business-to-business exemption is that the worker be free from the control of the business. Leased owner-operators in inter-state commerce must comply with federal regulations called the Truth In Leasing regulations which require the motor carrier to have exclusive possession and control of the vehicle and the operation of that vehicle in inter-state commerce. Whatever the scope of that control is it can’t be squared with the B2B requirement that the worker be free from control. It’s irreconcilable,” Cullen said.
VTA Slightly Boosts Raise Offer, Union Says It Falls Far Short
March 24, 2025 // The more than 1,500 transit workers were originally slated to vote on the VTA’s previous offer — 10.5% raises over three years — on Sunday, but Singh said the agency asked them to hold off after it decided to hold the special meeting. He criticized the fairness of wages at VTA, saying supervisors and upper management are “essentially making double what our employees are making.” But VTA officials said their latest offer could cause financial pain for the agency.
Orange County legislator pushes to restore independent contractor status for manicurists
March 13, 2025 // Ta, R-Westminster, has taken up an effort that he says would restore independence to California manicurists by challenging a state law he believes unfairly limits their ability to work on their own terms. AB 5, passed in 2019, aimed to tighten rules for independent contractors across various industries, including beauty. The law aimed to protect workers by ensuring they receive benefits like minimum wage, workers’ compensation and other labor rights — protections they could lose if classified as independent contractors. Its goal was to reduce exploitation and hold employers accountable for their responsibilities.