Washington State OT-Wage Plan Could Cost ‘White Collar’ Employers

Washington state regulators are considering rule changes on white-collar exemptions from overtime pay that could greatly increase the number of employees due time and a half when their work hours exceed 40.

The Department of Labor & Industries is circulating a “pre-draft” rule that has organized labor in good cheer and businesses, especially small ones, nervous.

The rule would give OT protection and big wage boosts to hundreds of thousands of salaried workers whose main connection to white-collar status is a job title, labor leaders say. Employers in the Evergreen State, however, foresee lost jobs and fewer work hours for ...