Senate endorses bill fixing glitch in overtime law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State senators endorsed legislation Tuesday to fix a glitch in Missouri's new minimum-wage law that otherwise could put police and fire departments on the hook for millions of dollars of unexpected overtime costs.

Voters last fall overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure raising Missouri's minimum wage to $6.50 an hour, instead of the federal minimum of $5.15. That increase kicked in Jan. 1.

Afterward, supporters of the ballot measure acknowledged that its language had inadvertently deleted a reference to federal overtime rules that had allowed some people to work more than 40 hours a week without triggering overtime pay.

Cities and fire departments complained that the change wreaked havoc on their scheduling and budgets.

Fire departments often use 24-hour shifts, and some police and sheriff's offices use 10- or 12-hour shifts that may result in employees working more than 40 hours in a particular week. The state previously followed a federal wage law that lets police work up to 171 hours and firefighters up to 212 hours in a 28-day work period without earning overtime.

But the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said the ballot measure requires all employees to get overtime after 40 hours, with no exceptions. That would mean a firefighter on a 24-hour shift could not work two days in the same week without triggering overtime.

A survey of just two dozen law enforcement agencies, including the state highway patrol and local police, projected the overtime change could cost those agencies more than $15 million.

On Tuesday, the Missouri Retailers Association said commissioned sales people also had been covered by federal overtime exceptions and thus also were affected by the ballot measure.

For businesses, "rather than paying them overtime, basically you'd have to send your employees home after 40 hours," said David Overfelt, president of the association.

The legislation would restore the references to federal overtime exceptions, with the intent of returning Missouri's overtime law to the way it was before the ballot measure passed.

Senators gave the bill first-round approval by voice vote after only a few minutes of discussion. A second Senate vote is needed to send it to the House. If the bill reaches the governor, it would take effect immediately upon his signature -- instead of at the traditional Aug. 28 effective date for Missouri laws.