The overtime pay disparity between federal managers and their subordinates would be erased under a new bill introduced by Rep. Thomas M. Davis, R-Va., this week.
The bill, H.R. 2696, would increase the overtime cap for managers and supervisors to GS-12, Step 1. Currently, overtime pay for managers and other professionals is capped at one and a half times the hourly rate of GS-10, Step 1.
Federal Managers Association President Michael B. Styles praised the bill, saying it would "address serious obstacles to our ability to recruit and retain a highly motivated cadre of managers and supervisors."
Under the current law, which has been in place since 1966, the cap on federal supervisors' and managers' overtime pay results in GS-12 supervisors making less than their subordinates during overtime.
That's because many GS-11 workers are protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act, and therefore receive the full one and a half times their GS-11 hourly rates.
In some areas, including the Washington-Baltimore region, the cap also means that supervisors may make less during overtime than they do during regular working hours.
Davis' bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Connie Morella, R-Md., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is his latest attempt to correct the overtime pay gap.
Last year, Davis proposed to raise the cap to one and a half times the rate of pay for GS-15, Step 1. He later proposed a bill that would have kept the cap at GS-10, Step 1, but with a guarantee that managers and professionals exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act would always receive at least their regular hourly pay rate during overtime hours.
The new bill also mandates that no employee be paid less for overtime work than their regular rate of pay.
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