PathWays PA Policy Blog

(7/25/18 - Updated with new deadline) In early July, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) proposed a new regulation requiring public comment. The proposed regulation would greatly expand eligibility for overtime pay in Pennsylvania. The regulation, available here , makes it harder for employers to classify workers as exempt managers and administrative professionals by raising the minimum salary these workers have to get from $23,660 to $47,892. This regulation mirrors much of the overtime proposal under President Obama's Administration that was put on hold in the courts. It would do three things: Clarify the definitions of executive, administrative, and professional workers to make it much easier to figure out what kinds of job duties qualify under the exemption.  Raise the minimum salary threshold for the exemption from $23,660/year to $47,892/year within two years and then institute a formula to update the minimum threshold every three years going fo...

Late last year, the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule change that would allow employers in tipped industries (primarily employers in the restaurant and food service industry) to collect and keep all tips earned by employees above the minimum wage. If employers chose to keep these tips, they could do so without notifying restaurant patrons. Including tips , waiters and bartenders only earn about $10.11 per hour, with Black workers earning $9.62/hour and Latino workers earning $9.93. According to a report from ROC and NELP, workers in the industry have median earnings between $19,900 and $20,800 per year - yet this rule could transfer $5.8 billion from workers to employers. Action Step Write a public comment before February 5 to share your thoughts on this proposal. EPI and a number of participating organizations put together an easy form to send comments. You can use their language or customize your own.  You can also submit comments directly in electronic form...

PathWays PA will be joining with advocates from all over Pennsylvania in a statewide push to raise the minimum wage tomorrow. Please join us at 10:00 AM tomorrow where workers will testify before a Democratic policy hearing at Cabrini College, asking the legislature to vote on an increase in the minimum wage. Cabrini is located at 610 King of Prussia Road, and the hearing will take place in the Grace Hall Boardroom . There are ONE MILLION low-wage workers in Pennsylvania who could use the boost from a higher minimum wage. Click here for more information.  PathWays PA is a member of the Raise the Wage Coalition, seeking in increase Pennsylvania's minimum wage to $10.10.

From our friends at MomsRising Raising the minimum wage helps women and it helps families. Women account for 55% of all workers who would benefit from increasing the minimum wage to $10.10. In addition, 28% of minimum wage workers have children. And what about that wage gap? Women already are at a disadvantage, earning less on average than men. The gap only increases for women of color and low-wage workers. Working moms now make up about 40% of primary breadwinners for American families with children, but are bringing home 23% less than their male counterparts. Less pay means less ability for moms to provide the basics for their children like food, medicine, and housing, as well as longer term needs like college tuition. If you want to close the wage gap and pull families out of poverty, Congress needs to raise the minimum wage, because working year round, full-time at the current federal minimum wage adds up to less than $15,000 per year. Make your voice echo through the hal...

From our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs Beginning at 3:00PM, Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the lead Senate sponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage will speak with others on their plans for the Fair Minimum Wage Act. A large coalition of groups is coming together to make 2014 a year of action to raise the minimum wage. The webinar will focus on the latest facts about how the minimum wage increase will help workers, families, and the economy, how to dispel myths spread by opponents, and how to join in actions from local events to social media campaigns. You can ask questions and will get resource materials you'll need. Additional speakers include: Christine Owens : Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project, Chris is a national spokesperson and expert on worker rights, including the minimum wage and unemployment insurance Moderator-Ellen Teller : Director of Government Rel...

From our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs  PHI (Paraprofessional Health Institute) and NELP (National Employment Law Project) are offering a webinar tomorrow at 2:00PM to explain and answer questions about the final rule extending minimum wage and overtime protections to home care and the impact it will have for home care workers, services and the industry. Sign up to join here  On December 9th at 3:00PM Direct Service Workforce Resource Center at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will host an additional webinar to explain the features of the recently updated PHI State Data Center , the first web-based tool to provide comprehensive, state-by-state profiles of the direct-care workforce. The latest state-by-state wage, employment, and demographic data available on nursing home aides, home health aides, and personal care aides is readily available on the site, as well as information on legislation/regulation and notable initiatives in each state. Re...

From our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs The federal minimum wage has been stuck at just $7.25 per hour - a poverty-level wage that leaves millions of workers unable to afford the basics. The tipped minimum wage was set in 1991 at $2.13/hr. That is even worse! In the coming weeks, the Senate is expected to vote on the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour in three phases of 95 cents each and index it to rise with the cost of living. Furthermore, the bill will gradually raise the federal minimum wage for tipped workers to 70 percent of the regular minimum wage. Call your Senators at 888-705-5182 and tell them what you think about the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013.

Three presidents have come and gone. Bubbles have inflated and burst. The tipped minimum wage is still $2.13 an hour. Almost a quarter of American children have a parent who makes the minimum wage. Raising the floor for all workers, including tipped workers, will give a jolt to the economy by putting money in the hands of people who will spend it in their communities. Click here to ask the House and Senate to raise the minimum wage.

Tomorrow will mark the 4th year without a raise in the minimum wage and over 21 years without an increase in the tipped minimum wage. In continued efforts for family sustaining jobs, ROCunited , an organization that advocates for restaurant workers, wants to call attention to the out-of-date minimum and tipped minimum wages. There will be an action event at a nearby business in Center City beginning at 1:30PM. Participants are asked to RSVP and meet at City Hall on the S. Broad St. side by the 6ft tall neon green birthday card at 1PM. Please RSVP here , email sheila@rocunited.org or call (215) 867-9747. Sign-Up for Our Monday ENewsletter to receive more stories!

A   lawsuit has been filed against the sports bar Chickie’s and Pete’s  airport branch for allegedly taking credit card fees out of waitstaff's tips.  These are workers who only earn $2.83 an hour plus their tips. An attorney representing a former employee said, Any reduction in tips...has a huge impact on their ability to earn a living. The United States Department of Labor has also started an investigation. ROC Philadelphia ,  PathWays PA , and many other organizations worked with Councilman Jim Kenney last year to  pass a bill in Philadelphia  ensuring that tipped workers did not have to pay credit card fees from their gratuities.

Trust Across America , a national radio show on the Voice America Variety channel, will air “Good Businesses Providing a Good Place to Work” Wednesday, December, 19 at noon. During the hour long show, hosts Stephenie Hendricks and Richard Eidlin will explore a number of strategies that help to shape a good workplace; including the emerging field of the Culture of the Workplace, and other issues such as earned sick days and minimum wage. The guests represent businsses from across the country and include: Andy Shallal -Owner of Busboys and Poets and Eatonville Restaurants , Member of D.C. Restaurant Industry Roundtable Jason Michaud -owner of LOCAL and Redhill Restaurant , Member of L.A. Restaurant Industry Roundtable; Lew Prince -Managing Partner, Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis, MO. Please listen and Call-In at (866) 472-5787 on Wednesday!

Shannon Hardin earns $10.90 an hour at her part-time job.  “I can’t live on this,” she said. “It’s almost impossible.” -Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times- The widening use of part-timers has been a bane to many workers, pushing many into poverty and forcing some onto food stamps and Medicaid.  And with work schedules that change week to week, workers can find it hard to arrange child care, attend college or hold a second job, according to interviews with more than 40 part-time workers. In in two leading industries — retailing and hospitality — the number of part-timers who would prefer to work full-time has jumped to 3.1 million, or two-and-a-half times the 2006 level, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In retailing alone, nearly 30 percent of part-timers want full-time jobs, up from 10.6 percent in 2006. The agency found that in the retail and wholesale sector, which includes hundreds of thousands of small stores that rely heavily on full-time wo...

Federal Policy Updates  A JOB SHOULD LIFT YOU OUT OF POVERTY, NOT TRAP YOU IN IT Women who earn minimum wage are struggling to make ends meet. The current minimum wage at $7.25 an hour can not support our families. If you support raising the minimum wage sign this petition today . What would raising the federal minimum wage do? Rebuild our economy. For every $1 added to the minimum wage, low-wage worker households spend an additional $2,800 the following year. Ensure a better future for our children. 21.5 million children have a parent who would benefit from a minimum wage increase.  Increase jobs. Increasing the minimum wage would boost consumer spending, which drives 70% of our economy.  Sign this petition today because we deserve the opportunity to work hard and earn enough to support our families! For more information on the benefits of increasing the minimum wage please check out the National Women's Law Center fact sheet . From our friends at 9t...

From our friends at 9to5 .  Women who earn minimum wage are struggling to make ends meet. The current minimum wage at $7.25 an hour can’t support our families. It's time to raise it to a wage that can. Sign a petition today asking your elected officials to support hard working men and women by increasing the minimum wage! What would raising the federal minimum wage do? Rebuild our economy. For every $1 added to the minimum wage, low-wage worker households spend an additional $2,800 the following year.  Ensure a better future for our children. 21.5 million children have a parent who would benefit from a minimum wage increase.  Increase jobs. Increasing the minimum wage would boost consumer spending, which drives 70% of our economy.  Sign a petition today because we deserve the opportunity to work hard and earn enough to support our families! For more information on the benefits of increasing the minimum wage please check out the National Women's La...

Federal Policy Updates  HOUSE RELEASES DRAFT OF LABOR-HHS APPROPRIATIONS BILL Last week, the House Appropriations Committee released a draft of the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations. The bill passed out of the subcommittee by a vote of 8 to 6. Overall the bill cuts more than $6 billion in discretionary funding from current levels. The majority of programs are flat-funded at current levels, but there are some notable increases and decreases. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) is cut by $194 million  The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is funded $111 million below last year’s level.  Head Start and child care do receive modest funding increases of $46 million and $25 million respectively, although these increases are lower than they both receive under the Senate bill .  The bill again de-funds many of the programs integral to the President’s health care reform law, which would make impl...

From our friends at Fight for Philly The federal minimum wage has not been increased in three years.  During that time, the price for our basic services have gone up and made it harder for a family to sustain itself.  It's time to increase the minimum wage and help the working class. On Tuesday, July 24, at 4 pm, you can meet Fight for Philly at the Liberty Bell for a march to Love Park.  For more information, contact Che at che@fightforphilly.org .  

Federal Policy Updates SUPPORT UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE Once again, millions of hardworking Americans face being cut off of unemployment insurance (UI) unless Congress acts to fully renew the federal UI program that's set to expire at the end of this month. One proposal to pay for the extension does so by reducing the number of working families who are able to claim the Child Tax Credit. The change would affect 5.5 million children in immigrant families earning an average of $21,000 per year, resulting in a loss of $1,800 in income . The Coalition on Human Needs is asking you to call your Members of Congress on Tuesday, February 14! Call toll-free 888-245-3381 or use this easy Click-to-Call page to connect with your Members of Congress. Please spread the word : Make sure your networks, friends, and co-workers know about calling on Tuesday. Make it your Valentine’s Day gift to unemployed workers across this nation. JOIN RESTAURANT WORKERS & SUPPORTERS ACROSS THE COU...

Today, the federal minimum increased to $7.25 an hour; however, not all workers will enjoy a raise. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees - waitresses, nail salon workers, car wash attendants, to name a few – has been frozen at $2.13 an hour since 1991. The result has been to drag down the pay for tipped workers, the overwhelming majority of which are adult women, many supporting families. They are hurt the most by the frozen minimum wage, which is an under-appreciated factor in the unequal pay that working women continue to receive. Thirty-two states have preserved or adopted stronger protections for tipped workers, and by 2010 over half of those will guarantee tipped workers 60% of the full minimum wage. This is the level of protection that the federal minimum wage provided tipped workers until 1989. Pennsylvania is one of that states that requires stronger protections for tipped workers. In the Commonwealth , tipped workers receive $2.83 an hour and an employer must make ...

It’s been years in the making, but federal legislation passed in 2007 will finally take full effect next week, when the federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 (after going from $5.85 to $6.55 in July 2008) . If you have questions about the minimum wage, the Department of Labor has a question and answer section you might want to read. And if you think minimum wage workers are either teenagers or part-time workers, think again : 1.1 million workers age 25 and over earned the minimum wage or less in 2008, representing 44 percent of all minimum wage earners. 40 percent of all minimum wage earners are full-time workers.