As the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ruling on the minimum salary for overtime exemption comes into effect on Dec 1st, institutions are starting to indicate how they will change postdoc salaries in response.
For example, Boston University (BU) is raising postdoc salaries to a minimum of $47,500 by December 1, 2016, and the University of Florida is providing salary increases for postdocs to a minimum of $47,476 by December 1, 2016, and increased the minimum salary requirement for newly hired postdocs to $47,476 as of July 1, 2016.
These responses seem fairly typical as the easiest solution for institutions, to simply raise salaries rather then undertake the tracking of hours, for which the institution is responsible. However, there is at least one case of an institution that appears to be going down the route of requiring postdocs to fill out timesheets – the University of Nebraska:
“Beginning Dec. 1, postdoctoral researchers who fall under the minimum base salary threshold of $913 a week ($47,476 for a full-year worker) and are not exempted from the threshold, will change to hourly pay status and be eligible for overtime payments. Timesheets will be required.”
Do you know what your institution is doing? Is your institution talking to either the postdoctoral association or postdoctoral office about what they are planning? We are going to build a resource here on the Future of Research website to gather all of this information together. Please feel free to send information to info@futureofresearch.org or to contact us on social media.
The Boston Postdoctoral Association (BPDA) has created a guide to the FLSA overtime rule and what it means for postdocs, which can be found here.
Cornell University policy, announced on 9/1/2016:
For postdoctoral associates at Cornell, based on the final rule we have confirmed that an hourly
position is not appropriate and will not be available. Postdoctoral associates must be full-time
exempt employees paid at least the DOL salary minimum. As of December 1, 2016, where this is not
possible, the postdoctoral associate must be moved to a temporary, hourly non-academic position,
with a pay rate and a non-academic title appropriate for the hourly duties, for example temporary
service technician.
Many thanks!
SF postoc here: Can we please normalize the data with the average living cost of each place. I’d like to cry a bit more.
A bit more work involved with that one! See the Boston Postdoc Association’s recent proposed salary recommendation for the Boston area. At the moment just looking to see how everyone is complying up to the legal minimum.
Hi Future of Research! I am the president of the Association of Postdoctoral Scholars at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. The Vice President of HR has just shared with me that all postdoc salaries will be raised to $47,476 by 11-24-16. Thanks for compiling this list!
At Oregon Health and Science University, as a post doc going into my second year (ie 1yr experience), I’m getting bumped to $47,850 from $43,700, paid on an R01. However, an email released by the university stated the injunction was too late to affect the changes already put in place and that after “meeting with stakeholders across OHSU” to “better understand the judge’s ruling” they will decide if any reversals will be forthcoming.
At University of Connecticut, they announced today that they will be cancelling plans to increase salaries for the time being.
On November 28, Rutgers has canceled the raise :
The VP for Human Resources wrote to all University Faculty and Staff “Rutgers is not, as of December 1, 2016, going to implement any changes to employees’ salaries or exemption classifications until further direction from the courts”
UConn Health also cancelled plans to increase salaries.
Drew University initially converted postdoc salary (<$21K for nine months) to hourly, but reversed decision after injunction. No increase in salary was instituted.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center originally was going to raise to the $47k minimum and wanted us to start tracking days worked (not sure why we need to track). Since injunction, they cancelled the raises and we are still tracking days worked (again, not sure why either). I have been a postdoc for two years and make what a year 0 postdoc would make in 2014 according to NIH payscale (when I started). Not to be whining or anything, but its tough especially in Boston to support yourself off that!