Dive Brief:
- There are certain segments of the U.S. workforce for which long hours and low pay have been the rule, not the exception. It has happened for decades within industries such as publishing, fashion, consulting, non-profit advocacy groups, movie production companies and talent agencies – industries that young people flock to, according to the New York Times.
- In those areas, the Times reports, assistants and other demanding entry-level jobs are filled by those who are willing to sacrifice work-life balance for the promise of big pay days and the prestige of top jobs yet to come.
- However, the new Department of Labor overtime rule, which forces employers to make some hard decisions regarding exempt vs. non-exempt employee classifications, has thrown a monkey wrench into the tradition, with some welcoming the potential changes and others not so much, according to the Times.
Dive Insight:
The new law, with a Dec. 1 deadline, has management in these specific areas wondering how they will deal with the dramatic changes. Jill Salayi, general manager at publisher Workman Press, sent a letter to the Labor Department during the public discussion phase outlining that because the company could not afford to allow overtime to all newly eligible staff members, cutting back work hours in many cases would be have to happen, the Times reported.
The Times article also cites several examples of employers who followed the grueling prescription for home-grown talent. At Burson-Marsteller, a public relations and polling company, associates earn between $40,000 to $50,000 a year, but need to go beyond 40 hours a week at work for a variety of reasons, including 24-hour monitoring of media coverage for clients on top of a normal workload.
Change will challenge employers of all types, of course. The rule is ostensibly meant to protect employees within the so-called "Prada" economy.
