EAP Pre-Draft Proposed Rule Language

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Kristi Walker)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Kristi Walker and I live in Kirkland, WA. I've worked as a Manager for 25 years.
I'm urging you to restore overtime rights to non-union, management so that companies are held accountable to pay their salaried employees a fair wage.

I'm urging you to restore overtime rights to non-union, management so that companies are held accountable to pay their salaried employees a fair wage. I personally work an average of 2 hours overtime per day, equaling 10 hours per week. This is expected of all in our team of 5. When we are busy, those hours increase. When we are slower (rarely) we do NOT get to take time off.

If employers had to pay time and a half to non-union management positions they would not be allowed to exploit our services. Employers are making up the rules to benefit themselves and the rule of expected 50 + hours without time off when slow is wrong. The way it is written is loose and open to interpretation.

I work for Government – there could be other benefits such as comp-time, or telecommuting etc. But there is not.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Gregory Jaspan)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Greg and I've lived and worked in Seattle at various jobs for 20 years.

I'm urging you to to restore overtime rights so that everyone paid less than triple the minimum wage (about $75,000/year) gets overtime pay when they work overtime hours.

Anyone who works more than 40 hours a week, especially people making less than triple the minimum wage, should get paid overtime. It's fundamentally wrong for people to work that much and not be compensated properly for it.

If people were paid overtime for the amount of time they work over forty hours in a week, it would stop corporations from abusing their employees by overworking them without proper compensation.

Restoring overtime rights will result in improved health — both physical and mental — for millions of workers and their families. It will also result in workers having more money to spend, which in turn will improve the economy and create more jobs. It's the smart and right thing to do.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by David M. Laws)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is David M. Laws, and I am retired. I have live in Washington State since 1967, and I worked as a musical instrument repair technician until my retirement in 2001.

I'm urging you to restore overtime rights so that everyone paid less than triple the minimum wage (about $75,000/year) gets overtime pay when they work overtime hours.

Currently, many workers are forced to work overtime for no extra compensation. This results in extra costs for childcare, food, and medical care from the effects of overwork. I can tell you from personal experience that this is a large burden, particularly for families with children.

Changing the overtime rules will result in a boost to the economy from workers having more disposable income; lower unemployment, as employers hire workers to avoid paying overtime; healthier workers; more stable families; lower crime, as children will have more supervision; and healthier relationships, as families will have more time together. Fortunately, when I was working, I mainly had positions where I was paid overtime. The times I did not enjoy this were trying on my health and my family.

Thank you for your consideration of these points. I hope you decide in favor of fair compensation for everyone.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Stacia Jenkins)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Stacia Jenkins, I’m 52 years old, and I live in Normandy Park. I’ve worked as a salaried office manager/administrative professional for fifteen years, after almost twenty years of hourly work. As a single parent, I have lost advancement opportunities because of the current business culture which expects salaried workers to spend 50-60 hours a week at work, plus often be available nights and weekends. When not available to work overtime, I’ve been the first to be laid off, but I’ve also had jobs where I did what I had to to keep my job, missing dinner and time with my kids to work late.

I’m writing to request an update to overtime rules to reflect the current realities of wages and cost of living, and restore overtime pay for salaried workers to its historical level of three times the minimum wage, $75,000 per year.

$75,000 a year is barely enough income to support a family in Washington State today, but many are surviving on that and much less. At the same time, most salaried employees are working more than a 40 hour week, taking time from family and community, and even worse, time away from opportunities for education, second jobs, and the time and energy needed to improve their careers and income.

If employers had to pay time and a half for their salaried workers, at least that time taken from employees would be compensated, and perhaps marginally improve their quality of life. I think many employers would increase their staffing instead, giving people back the time they need for education, good health, and their families and communities.

Working 50, 60, or more hours per week is unhealthy for anyone, impacting well being and families in ways money can’t compensate. Parents aren’t home or are too tired to help kids with homework and sports and school activities, people can’t participate in valuable and important community work, or properly take care of their health with rest, home cooked meals, and recreation. It’s especially grievous, and expensive for the government in the long run, when those impacts fall on people who are already low income and dealing with the stresses of just barely getting by.

Please give low income people a better chance for quality of life and improving their and their children’s situation by requiring employers to compensate workers fairly, or hire more workers so employees have more time for life. Uncompensated work benefits employers, but is critically unfair to workers.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Martin Edward Jones)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Martin Jones and i am a U.S. citizen who works in data entry and have an online retail business.

I think if someone earns $75,000/year then if they work overtime should receive overtime pay. The reason behind overtime pay is to discourages it as a way of managing people as well as the business itself. But if overtime happens, we MUST pay because its part of an agreement. People who work and have one job, need th emoney and they are entitled to it. It's simple contract law.

They should never have been changed. At one time all companies pay for overtime compensation. When people work without pay is nothing short of slavery.

More money in any community means better standard of living and less crime.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Lisa Kent)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Lisa and I live in Kent.

I'm urging you to restore overtime rights so that everyone gets overtime pay when they work overtime hours on a regular basis!

L & I should restore overtime rights because it is not right that someone works overtime on a weekly basis and doesn't get compensated while the employer benefits from free labor. And now the employer wants to charge a monthly premium for the high deductible health insurance. So in essence they are taking any raise that was worked hard for all year long and making us pay a premium and a plan that doesn't cover anything unless you end up having a hospital visit. Thus, we will need that overtime pay just to stay even.

By receiving the overtime pay, our household will be in a better position to cover college, retirement (which is back to back for us) and the increasing property tax to cover the McCleary decision.

Overtime pay should not just be for those at the lower limits as we are having to subsidize healthcare for those who earn up to $75,000 (at our company) and also for others outside of our company. Our income is not double that of the non payer and we should not be left out of getting paid for time worked!

My motto has always been — I don't work for free! And neither should anyone else.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Esther V. John)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Esther John and I live in Seattle. I've worked as a college professor for 10 years.

I think that if you make less than $75,000/year you should get overtime pay.

L&I should restore overtime pay because many people need to get paid for extra hours worked. This restores the balance between the uber-wealthy and working class people.

If employers had to pay time and a half when workers worked over 40 hours, more people would be able to pay for child care or at least get compensated for the extra work they contribute.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Frank Kroger)

Dear Director Sacks:

I am Frank Kroger, I live in Seattle. I am a retired longshoreman from ILWU local 19 , which dispatched me to work at shipping companies in the port of Seattle from 1996 till 2015. I was also dispatched as a marine clerk through ILWU Local 52 and as a foreman, Local 98.

I urge Washington State L&I to restore overtime rights to all employees earning under $75K/year. While wages have been stagnant since the 1970's productivity has increased tremendously. As longshoremen we receive overtime for any time over eight hours in a day, for any night work and for any weekend work.
As workers we are trading our time. When we work more than the standard working hours we are giving time over the amount set aside for our employer, we are using the time that is our personal time. That is to say time to spend with our families, for relaxation, and for enjoyment. Working overtimes is an extra burden and deserves extra compensation. The more we work the less we have the life that is our own. What is the purpose of living?

Without overtime compensation the worker's relationship with the employer is out of balance. The worker feels taken advantage of, exploited. When receiving overtime the worker can hold his head high and feel valued and appreciated. It is a honest and fair deal.

The truth is with overtime both parties come out ahead, the employee who is recognized for his or her contribution to the work effort and the employer who has created a happier workforce, which translates into improved job performance.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 Zachary Lawrence)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Zachary Lawrence and I live in Seattle. I have worked in the service industry for 14 years.
I am urging you to halt the theft of labor wages from the middle class and restore overtime rights so that anyone paid less than triple the minimum wage (roughly $75k/ year) get overtime pay for overtime hours. Also, to tie that ceiling to inflation.

This is good for the entire economy to put wages and time directly back into the hands of the middle class that this law most acutely effects. Middle management used to be a respected and desired step on the ladder to economic success but has become a joke in the service industry because too often managers are paid less than the people they manage once hours worked are taken into account.

People will either have more money to spend in the real world economy or more time for family and a healthier work life balance. This could even help increase family stability and birth rates which will add even more to the overall health of our state. It will also be another tool to address increasing economic inequality.

Workers have been exploited for too long. We cannot wait any longer for a revision to this law.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Lauren Sewell)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Lauren and I live in Seattle. I've worked in nonprofits for 3+ years.

I want to see overtime workers making under $75,000 a year getting fairly paid.

I worked a job right out of college, $20,000 in debt, and living 3 people to a 2 bedroom apartment in Tacoma. My nonprofit job was salaried, but that salary was only $25,000 a year. Because I was salaried, I was exempt, and there were definitely weeks when I was working overtime (Saturday programming, Sunday programming, and evening events). With such low pay, and with no workers rights, those overtime hours were worthless. I could have really used the extra money, and I felt like my time was taken advantage of.

These overtime rights would protect vulnerable worker from being abused. We all know time is money. Let's really make it so we're valuing all people's time.

Your support is monumental. So many people deserve this sort of protection.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Lloyd Johnston)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Lloyd Johnston, I live in northeast Seattle and I have worked as an engineer/designer for about forty years.

I would like to see the rules for overtime pay for frontline workers be upgraded to assure that those who make less than $75,000 to $100,000 per annum in 2018 dollars are assured 1.5 times base pay for each hour worked over 40 in one week.

As the current work culture stands, workers feel encouraged to spend unpaid extra time at work simply to allay fears of employment insecurity while employers have no motivation to assure workers that working only paid hours is considered “normal”. The unpaid extra hours do not benefit the employee in any material way and can have negative effects on the employee's personal life and family. Unpaid extra hours can also diminish the employee's opportunity to participate in civic and/or cultural activities.

Mandating that all employee hours are paid and that hours above 40 per week are paid at 1.5 (or more) times base rate will provide employers with a valid reason to limit employee hours to reasonable limits and compensate them for time spent beyond those limits.

Our nation needs more ordinary citizens who are willing and able to participate in. civic and cultural activities. Helping our fellow citizens to work a normal day for normal pay will allow many to participate and thereby enhance our city, State and Nation by their after-work efforts.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Dave Maynard)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Dave Maynard. I live in Seattle, and I’ve been a carpenter for 40 years.

Anyone earning less than $75,000 a year should get overtime pay restored to them.

Why should people in lower income brackets voluntarily work for free beyond a 40 hour week, handing their hard efforts over to their much wealthier employers gratis, when they have limited time and resources to begin with? It violates the most basic principles of fairness.

Not only would the worker’s life be transformed by extra income that could be so dramatically transformative for their quality of life, the employer would benefit from the Increased motivation and productivity of the workforce ,not to mention their goodwill.

Morale has a direct bearing upon motivation and productivity. Workers who feel taken advantage of, will suffer a decrease in these positive emotions. It’s also been shown by surveys and studies alike, that more money in the workers pockets directly improves the general economy.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Lesley Morgan)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Lesley and I live in Tacoma, Washington. I have worked as an attorney for 8 years.
I'm urging you to restore overtime protections so that everyone paid less than three times the minimum wage (about $75,000 per year) gets overtime pay when they work overtime.

L&I should restore overtime rights because overtime abuse is rampant in so many sectors of the working world. I frequently worked overtime as an attorney making $46,000 a year. I never received overtime pay. I saw it happen to almost all of my salaried coworkers and colleagues.

If employers had to pay overtime for time worked over 40 hours in a week, many people including myself would feel such a huge relief. I want to be able to give my all at work and be paid for any extra time I give to my employer.

Thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I hope you will do what is right for workers.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Roxana)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Roxana I live in Washington State have been working as a hair stylist for 15 years with no insurance no sick pay etc etc

I want what's fair. We all have to survive we all know that right

L&I should restore overtime rights because it's the right thing to do.

I believe if people were treated with respect that you will get a person that works for you to do even more to get time and a 1/2 after 40 hours is a blessing for lots of people

It's just time to step up and do the right thing

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Colleen Winchester)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Colleen Winchester. I am a retired agricultural/soil and water engineer.

I am writing to express my strong opinion that overtime pay rights should be protected for the American worker. I urge you to restore overtime rights so that everyone paid less than triple the minimum wage gets overtime pay when they work overtime.

I have lived long enough to have worked both as a non professional and as a professional, under several different types of “payment” for working over 40 hours/per week. The bottom line is, as nice as vacation time, atta-boys, bonuses, etc, are, they are no substitute for the money you would earn for those hours worked over a 40 hour work week. Unless, of course, you are making enough money per year to have the luxury of foregoing monetary payment for extra vacation time. This will not happen until some kind of protection is offered to workers, enabling them to earn overtime DOLLARS rather than compensations that are put in place based on what is best for the bottom line of a corporation's stock holders.

Dollars paid out to employees for the hours worked are returned to the community around them. From my own experiences, those monies go towards, rent, groceries, debt payment, spent at local businesses. Everyone benefits, not just company stockholders, when people are guaranteed the opportunity to be adequately compensated for their work,

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Tanya L. Sweeney)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Tanya and I live in North Seattle. I’ve worked as a software engineer for 4 years. Before that I worked as a secretary for more than 20 years.

I think all workers in Washington State, whether hourly or salary, should be eligible for overtime. But if that seems unreasonable, I’m ok with capping it at workers who earn under $100k.

Every worker should be paid for every hour of work. Hours over forty should be compensated at time and a half. For everyone. If we must continue with a class of non-overtime-elligible workers, let’s set the floor for that at $100k.

Things will change little for me personally if L&I restores overtime rights. However, Seattle has some of the worst homelessness in the nation. Maybe some of our working homeless could afford to rent a place to live if we mandated overtime pay for them.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Laura Huddlestone)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Laura Huddlestone, and I live in Seattle. I've worked as a massage therapist for many years, and before that I worked retail.

I deeply believe that workers who are paid less than triple the minimum wage should recieve overtime pay when they work overtime hours.

Asking workers to work more than 40 hours a week is draining, and impinges on their ability to care for their family, pursue an education, and contribute to their community. Workers deserve fair compensation for their efforts. Real wages have already not kept up with cost of living, and the workers targeted are the working class whose standard of living has fallen over the past two decades. This is a fair way to address a small part of the problem.

Better compensation means healthier workers, more money going back into the community, and more opportunity for everyone.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Diana Stack Roberts)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Diana Stack Roberts and I live in Vancouver WA.

I want overtime rights restored so anyone paid less than three times the minimum wage (about $75,000/year) gets overtime pay when they work overtime hours.

I have watched my adult child in management position work far more than 40 hours a week for pay that does not raise her family above the poverty level. It’s not right. It is happening to far too many people. Workers should be paid for their time.

Restoring this standard means better pay for the worker and maybe more jobs for more people. It also means people will be paid for their time and work and not be taken advantage of: if one is called a manager, one should be paid for the time and responsibility, either with a decent salary or decent overtime.

We need to do this here in Washington and not put our workers at the mercy of the federal government, especially this version of it. We can do better than Congress is doing right now, and we should

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Sean Dannen)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Sean Dannen. I live in Tacoma and worked for AFSCME C28 for 12 years as an Organizer.

I think if you are paid less than triple the minimum wage you should be eligible for overtime. Right now you the working poor if you make this amount of money in the Puget Sound area especially if you live in King County. Our community needs livable wages for all us to thrive and have a healthy Washington.

Let's not continue to have large corporate companies & franchisee's continue to exploit overtime rules not being updated for generations. It is time to have these rules enter 2018.

L& I should restore overtime rights because it is fair to our community & we know the federal administration is not going to do it. We as Washington have to live our values of fair pay for our work & not continue to have workers be exploited by corporations. Also, we should not have to pay for their workforce qualifying for public assistance due to their low wages. This would be one small step in improving this situation.

More families will be able to get off public assistance, make it with only 1 job, and it will be easier for families to stay together without as much economic pressure.

(Submitted on 10/26/18 by Anne Hepfer)

Dear Director Sacks:

My name is Anne Hepfer and I have lived in Washington for my whole life. I've worked as a teacher for the last 13 years.

I'm urging you to restore overtime rights so that everyone paid less than triple the minimum wage (about $75,000/year) gets overtime pay when they work overtime hours.

L&I should restore overtime rights because the cost of living in this state has increased astronomically. For example, in 2017 the rents in Seattle increased by 13.5 %. This is a very good reason for restoring overtime rights.

Thus, if we restored overtime rights people will have more economic stability and be happier employees.