The Washington Department of Labor and Industries has released its formal proposal to update the regulations governing Executive, Administrative and Professional (EAP) workers, also known as exempt employees. The proposed changes would increase the number of workers who are not exempt and are therefore eligible for overtime pay. The proposal includes setting a salary threshold for exempt employees that will ultimately be nearly $80,000 (2.5 times the state minimum wage). Anyone who makes less than that, regardless of the job they do, would qualify for overtime pay. WSHA has concerns about the proposal’s impact on hospitals, including financial stress, compliance, litigation risk and negative impact on employment relations.
WSHA has provided a bulletin outlining the proposed changes, ways for your hospital to participate in the rulemaking and WSHA’s activity with this rulemaking. Rulemaking hearings are scheduled for mid-July for Western Washington and mid-August for Eastern Washington. We encourage members to plan to attend a hearing and we are asking for feedback on how the proposed rule will impact your hospital. Please see the bulletin for details. Please provide feedback to Jaclyn Greenberg, Policy Director, Legal Affairs, by Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
