Legislative Update -- December 9, 2019
December 9, 2019
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ILA is preparing to advocate atthe upcoming series of Legislative Meet-ups (look for event details this week). Spring 2020 is the second session of the 101st Illinois General Assembly, and is expected to be quiet, with fewer days scheduled in session than in past years, following on an active 2019 with the capital bill and gaming and cannabis legislation.
The Public Policy Committee, Advocacy Committee, and Executive Board have worked hard to prepare ILA's legislative agenda, including support for net neutrality protections; working with AISLE and other coalition partners Media Matters and Media Literacy Now on media literacy related legislation; making consistent library trustee qualifications; working with the Illinois State Library on possible revisions to patron privacy law with regard to self-hold pickups; and increased funding for libraries in the per capita and per student grant programs to help offset the budget impact of the minimum wage increase, and supporting state purchase of databases and the creation of a grant program for the development of open educational resources (OER). It is an ambitious agenda for a quiet session, and we hope you will join us at one of the Legislative Meet-up events around the state to help make the case.
Keep up with ILA's Public Policy Committee and Advocacy Committee online; minutes, agendas, and board reports are posted there, along with a "Contact Us" button on the PPC page for queries and suggestions. And of course, watch this space for legislative updates as the session gets under way.
New Federal Overtime Rules Take Effect January 1
Legislation other than library legislation naturally also affects us; particularly employment law. This week we have an alert regarding Federal overtime exemption rules taking effect January 1 from Illinois Library Luminary and library lawyer Phil Lenzini:
On September 24, 2019, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published its final overtime rule, effective January 1, 2020, giving employers about 100 days to review and adjust the pay of their exempt workforce to comply with the law.
The new rule increases the salary level for the exemptions (executive, administrative, and professional). The new salary level for exemptions will be $684 per week ($35,568). Currently, the required salary is $455 per week ($23,660). The new rule makes no changes to the duties tests for any exemptions and does not provide for automatic annual increases in the minimum salary level.
At a minimum, libraries should check their exempt employees’ salaries (e.g. library directors) to determine if they will remain above the salary threshold necessary to maintain exempt status; and plan for any necessary adjustments to take effect by January 1.
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