State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Extra work and no pay: How Iowa ended overtime for thousands of state workers

The Des Moines Register: Iowa has revoked overtime eligibility for about 2,800 state workers, a move critics say could cripple government services if employees leave for the private sector and better jobs.

In all,167 job classifications, including nurses, public defenders and social workers, can now be required to work more than 40 hours a week without additional pay or comp time.

And for 12,800 state workers who remain eligible for overtime, the state has altered how it calculates overtime in ways that reduce their pay and the circumstances when employees qualify for it. For example, the hours that count toward overtime must be those actually worked in a week. Before, sick or vacation days counted toward the calculation.

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