University of Illinois increasing salaries to avoid overtime

[TexasTowelie]

URBANA -- The University of Illinois will spend $3 million in salary increases for about 400 postdoctoral research associates to avoid overtime charges the school would otherwise pay under a new federal rule.

The rule from the Department of Labor taking effect Dec. 1 means the annual salary threshold at which companies can deny overtime pay will be doubled from $23,660 to nearly $47,500.

The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports Sunday that interim Provost Edward Feser told faculty it would be impractical and costly to track researchers' hours and pay them overtime. He says other universities also are adopting the new minimum salary for researchers.

Campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler says the average pay of research associates is $39,600. Kaler says the money for the raises will come from existing research grants in some cases.

Read more: http://www.sj-r.com/news/20160904/university-of-illinois-increasing-salaries-to-avoid-overtime

[Buzz Clik]

1. Same thing is happening nation wide, including in your home state.

Federal laws can have sweeping impacts.

The net result will be a crash in the number of post docs.

[Cicada]

2. Maybe slave labor isn't fair

I get it, that the whole point of post docs and grad students is to have slave labor. But a small bump in NSF and NIH funding can pick up this extra cost. And maybe that's only fair. The economic return on Fed govt science funding must be something like a hundred to one so a little bump for this is reasonable. And fair.

[Buzz Clik]

3. Slave labor, Gracie?

But a small bump in NSF and NIH funding can pick up this extra cost.

Right. No sweat. Double the cost of a post doc, add in the fringes and indirect costs, and try to squeeze all of that into a $100K per year and still have money available for the actual research. Good call.

The bottom line is at least 50% of the post docs in the system will be instantly unemployed.

Shall we go after medical residents next? Are you willing to foot the bill for quadrupled "labor" costs during your next hospital visit? "Slave labor." Damn, I love socialists!

[Cicada]

4. Someone with an IQ of 150 working 60 hours per week to improve our world deserves $100000 per year

But I agree we don't want to reduce research. We need to be educated to understand that the NSF and NIH are the greatest investments imaginable and that they should be lavishly funded. For my whole life life expectancy has increased a month or two every year. That alone is worth all the taxes I have ever paid. You and I agree we need to assure research continues at current levels. I just want you, I assume, and other researchers to be properly rewarded.

[Buzz Clik]

5. Yeah.

Glad you understand the process.

I'm sure that those post docs, who are now unemployed rather than making $28,000 annually, really understand why their path to gainful employment was just terminated.

Well, at least half the number of post docs employed previously can live the lavish lifestyle of $35,000 per year ... oh,wait. It's now cheaper to hire an hourly helper or a PhD candidate, so most post docs will now be fully screwed. But for a really good cause.

We can all take comfort in the knowledge that one person on this thread is thrilled that "slave labor" has ended.

[Cicada]

6. Some people think raising minimum wages kills jobs, some don't.

Demographic changes in the electorate will cause a tidal wave of more progressive elected officials. I think they will be willing to approve fair wages for grad students and post docs. I am sorry you expect a bleaker world.