Worcester Business Journal

Central Massachusetts' Source for Business News August 29, 2016 Volume 27 Number 18 www.wbjournal.com $2.00 $11M autism center 6 The New England Center for Children has expanded to meet a growing need for autism services. Viewpoint Columnist James T. Brett calls on Congress to help Central Mass. exports. Ex-Im Bank need 41 Q&A with Victoria Mariano, director at the Bull Mansion restaurant Shop Talk 8 Class of 2016 Businesses jumping through new OT hoops BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal W ith the new federal overtime pay rule set to take effect Dec. 1, Central Massachusetts businesses are educating themselves, planning changes – and offering opinions. Some say the new standard, where sala- ried employees making less than $47,476 per year will be eligible for overtime pay, is too much too soon. The new pay point is more than double the previous figure of $23,600 in annual salary, And unlike other state and federal mandates which are phased in over time, this one is happening all at once. "It's a 100-per- cent increase. That's a lot to knuckle in one year," said Stuart Loosemore, gener- al counsel and director of govern- ment affairs and public policy at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. "We're all for good wages for a hard day's work, but a 100-percent increase is hard for busi- nesses to absorb, and it lumps a lot more workers into it." The Worcester chamber plans an informational seminar on the new over- time-exemption law this fall; the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce and CMEA Employers' Association held educational sessions on the new rule earlier this summer. Nationally, 4.2 million more workers will be eligible for overtime, about 86,000 of them in Massachusetts, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Concerns for lower-paid employees working more than 40 hours – sometimes way more than 40 hours – for no additional pay spurred the new exemption rules. Some of the ways area employers can >> Continued on Page 36 Dee Sendrowski, human resources director at Fidelity Bank, which has a new online tracker for employee hours. P H O T O / E R I K A S I D O R Meet this year 's 40 under Forty honorees STARTING ON PAGE 10 >>

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