|
by Marge Scanlin, ACA Staff
Camp salaries are subject to many factors! You juggle
your budget, the reality of what it takes to attract quality staff, the
increased challenge in finding good staff, and the reality of federal
and state guidelines affecting minimum wage.
As of October 2000, legislation increasing the minimum
wage is still very much in play in Congress. The House, the Senate and
the White House all have different ideas on how to reach consensus. The
issue is one hobbled by election-year politics. Negotiations are so fluid
there is no base bill. There is no timetable for action. It is possible,
however, that a compromise will be reached in the closing hours of the
Congress and legislation will pass. There is no indication of change in
current exemptions and definitions.
Current and Proposed Minimum Wage
The current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour has been in
effect since 1996. The most popular proposals call for an increase to
$5.65 per hour on Jan. 1, 2001 and $6.15 per hour by Jan. 1, 2002.
Republicans who are supportive of an increase are insisting
on tax breaks for the businesses that would have to absorb the increase.
Originally those tax provisions included changes in pensions and repeal
of the estate tax. They were eventually dropped. Still included in some
proposals are tax credits for reforestation expenses, expense qualifying
property costs up to $35,000, accelerated deduction for meals and entertainment
expenses, repeal of the installment method accounting requirement, repeal
of the FUCA surtax, deductibility of health care costs for self-employed
and accelerated deductibility for those not in employer-sponsored programs,
repeal of excise taxes on producers and marketers of liquor, beer and
wine and income averaging for commercial fishermen. It is not known whether
any of these provisions will ultimately survive.
What is the prudent camp director to do?
- First, assume that the minimum wage will be going up, and adjust
your budget accordingly.
- Determine whether the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its minimum
wage provisions apply to you. (See below.)
- Discuss with a local labor attorney whether there is a (Your
State) Labor Standards Act whose requirements differ from those
of the FLSA.
- Discuss with your local labor attorney the job classifications you
have and which of them are exempt (those with more than 50 percent
of their work time spent in supervisory or administrative functions).
Such classifications may be exempt from the minimum wage and overtime
provisions. Check this with counsel. For instance, in your state,
would camp counselors be considered "exempt employees?"
How about unit leaders and head cooks?
- Determine a fair value for the room and board you provide, the cost
(not the value to a camper, but the reasonable cost to you) of which
may be counted as part of the employee’s wage.
- Determine record keeping requirements that must be met to claim
room and board as part of the compensation package.
When does the FLSA apply to your camp?
- If you gross more than $500K in a twelve-month period, OR
- If you have two or more employees involved in interstate commerce
(such as taking out of state registrations, phone calls, shipments,
mail; OR
- If your camp is part of a sponsoring body such as a scout council
or church denomination whose budget meets the budget criteria.
Note that an individual employee of a camp that is not
a covered enterprise (budgets less than $500K) are subject to the FLSA
when they are engaged in interstate commerce. This includes staff who
make interstate phone calls, write interstate letters, solicit campers
from other states, or who order food that comes from other states, etc.
In addition, employees of government-owned and operated
camps are considered part of a governmental covered enterprise regardless
of interstate commerce or budget requirements.
What about "seasonal" exemptions?
Even if you meet the above requirements to be a "covered
enterprise," the minimum wage and overtime requirements do not apply
to SEASONAL operations. However, many camps no longer meet the seasonal
operation criteria. This seasonal exemption applies only if:
- The camp operates for seven months or less in a year; OR
- During the preceding calendar year, the camp’s average receipts
for any six months of the year were not more than one-third of its
average receipts for the other six months. This rule requires careful
calculation. If the camp had income in the first six months of $600K,
and income in the second six months of $300K, you can see that $300K
is NOT 1/3 of $600K! Therefore, this camp does not qualify for a seasonal
exemption.
What does the FLSA require?
- Employees must be paid at least the federal minimum wage — now $5.15
per hour, but likely to increase soon. This amount may be higher in
your state. By federal law it cannot be lower unless the employee
qualifies for a training wage or is a full-time student for whom you
received a certificate from the DOL to pay at not less than 85 percent
of minimum wage.
- That the employee receive time and one-half of the employee’s hourly
rate (including the room and board calculation) for all hours over
forty worked in each work week.
- That the employer retain stipulated payroll records.
What is the training wage?
A Training Wage Exception was created in 1996 and allows
an employer to pay NEW employees under the age of twenty a training wage
of not less than 85 percent of the going minimum wage for the first ninety
consecutive calendar days of initial employment. Employment of persons
under the training wage exception cannot result in the reduction or elimination
of hours or benefits for other workers.
Note that there must be a bona fide training plan in
place for these workers to receive a training wage exception.
It is also possible to apply for certificates to employ
"full-time students" at not less than 85 percent of the prevailing
minimum wage. There are simplified application procedures in place if
you employ fewer than six such students. Contact the Wage and Hour Division,
U.S. Department of Labor in your area for further information. It is our
understanding that such certificates must be on file for your camp to
qualify to pay at this rate.
Are there more labor requirements?
In addition to requirements for minimum wage, there are
also requirements affecting child labor. These requirements impact camps
employing persons under the age of eighteen. These requirements will be
updated in an upcoming CampLine article. They were last addressed
in the May 1999 issue of CampLine (see www.ACAcamps.org/campline.)
Resources
The Department of Labor Web site
can be found at www.dol.gov. Check
there or with your local department of labor office for publications such
as:
Handy Reference Guide to the FLSA
(Wage and Hour Pub. 1282)
Hours Worked Under the FLSA (WH
Pub. 1297)
Executive, Administrative, Professional
and Outside Sales Exemptions (Pub 1363)
Overtime Compensation Under the
FLSA (Pub. 1325)
Records to be Kept by Employers (Pub.
1261)
Child Labor Requirements in Nonagricultural
Occupations (Pub. 1330)
Application of the FLSA to Employees of State and
Local Governments (26 CFR, Part 553)
Originally published in the 2000 Fall issue
of The CampLine.
|
