8.23.2004
FLSA and the American Dream
OK, this deserves comment.
Ppl prefer the empty status of being salaried to actual overtime pay. This deserves comment. And lots of statistics about how Americans work more hours than employees in any other industrialized nation (including Japan - for some reason thats the natural completion to that sentence, as if every reader must be thinking "no, the Japanese work much harder than we do") and how real income has been declining for the past 30 years and how its all because of the American Dream.
- e
To all Emory Staff:
I write out of concern that some Emory employees might feel that their
value as colleagues is somehow lessened because of new federal regulations.
These regulations require Emory and thousands of other universities and
businesses to change the way they document the work week.
As you may know, regulations effective today, arising from the Fair Labor
Standards Act, mean that many formerly "exempt" employees will become
nonexempt. This means that, instead of being paid monthly, they will become
hourly employees, paid biweekly, and eligible for overtime pay. At Emory,
this change will affect some 900 of our 18,000 employees. A fuller
description of these changes can be found in this week's "Emory Report,"
and Human Resources will be offering information sessions to help answer
the logistical and technical questions that inevitably will arise.
Two particular concerns, however, have come to my attention, and I want to
address them immediately.
First, while Emory must comply with these new regulations, we will not
allow broad-gauged and impersonal standards to impinge on the inherent
dignity of each person who works here. Whether one is paid once a month or
twice a month, whether one is eligible for overtime or not, whether one
must "clock in" and "clock out" -- none of this should be allowed to
diminish our sense of each other's worth or our own. Every position at
Emory contributes in substantial and important ways to the University's
mission.
The second point to note is that, for some employees, the change from being
paid monthly to being paid biweekly could initially create some timing
issues for personal finances, even though the total annual compensation
will not change. For instance, the change might affect direct deposit,
payroll deduction of mortgages and other loan payments, and so on. I am
aware of this concern and have asked our financial and legal analysts to
study the best way to address it.
In the meantime, those employees being changed from exempt to nonexempt
will continue to be paid monthly until the end of January,2005. During
this time we will review the changes necessary for compliance with federal
law, while giving employees and departments time to prepare for the
significant effects the changes will have on them.
If you have questions about whether and how these changes will affect you,
I encourage you to contact your departmental HR representatives or call the
HR hotline at 404-712-4744; you may leave a message with your question, and
someone will return your call with more information. You may also email
your comments or questions to flsa@emory.edu.
With best wishes and gratitude for all that you do for Emory,
Sincerely,
Jim Wagner
President
Alice R. Miller
Emory University
Vice President for Human Resources
