By Nicholas J. Fiorenza, Managing Partner & PIA Association Counsel, Ferrara Fiorenza PC

As of October 3, 2020, Pennsylvania employers must comply with a series of new overtime regulations creating compliance obligations that exceed those set forth in federal law. The effective regulations under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act were initially proposed in 2018 and have gone through several changes before being recently finalized.

Pennsylvania members must now comply with the more favorable of either state or federal minimum wage and overtime rules. Some of the more significant features of the new regulations include:

–  Effective October 3, 2021 the minimum salary requirements for “white-collar exemptions” will exceed those required by federal law. The state requirement will become $40,560 annually ($780 per week). In order to maintain any white-collar overtime exemption, employers must increase the salary of any exempt employee earning less than this amount or reclassify the employee. Increases are also scheduled for the following two years.

–  The new regulations have modified some of the basic definitions of exempt employees (i.e., computer professionals.

–  The new Pennsylvania regulations have not adopted recent federal law changes allowing employers to implement more flexible federal “fluctuating work week” rules, often implemented to minimize overtime costs.

Pennsylvania employers will do well to closely review these new changes and take appropriate compliance steps.

For Human Resources Assistance:

For more information on any of the above topics, or assistance with any employment-related matter, contact Nick Fiorenza, Association Counsel, Ferrara Fiorenza PC, (315) 437-7600, njfiorenza@ferrarafirm.com.

Tim Freeman, President
Print & Graphic Communications Association
Office: (716) 691-3211
Cell: (716) 983-3826