New federal rules governing who is exempt from overtime pay requirements whipped up waves of sharp political debate in Washington, D.C., but apparently have caused barely a ripple among employers here since taking effect in late August.


Representatives for several Spokane and Washington state business organizations say their members have voiced little confusion or alarm about the new rules, which pertain to a disputed number of workers. Human-resource representatives here likewise say theyve seen little impact.


Id characterize it mostly as a nonevent in Washington, largely because Washington is one of 18 states in the country that has its own set of overtime rules, says Kristopher Tefft, general counsel for the Olympia-based Association of Washington Business.


So far, everybody, for the most part, has reported smooth-sailing transitioning to the new rules, Tefft says, although he notes that there remains some bipartisan rancor over the changes.


Developed by the Bush administration, the new rules affect mostly white-collar workers whose overtime status is tied to professional, administrative, and executive job-duty definitions.


The White House and the U.S. Department of Labor have claimed the new rules would strengthen overtime rights for 6.7 million American workers, including 1.3 million low-wage workers who were denied overtime pay under the old rules. Democrats and organized labor have disputed such figures, though, contending that millions of workers actually could lose overtime benefits under the new rules.


The most notable change for businesses here, according to those interviewed, is guaranteed overtime protection for workers earning less than $23,660 a year, or $455 a weekwhich compares with, and supersedes, a previous $250-a-week threshold in Washington state.


Among other notable federal-law changes are the following:


White-collar positions paying more than $100,000 a year are exempt from overtime pay if an employee has performed at least one duty in an executive, administrative, or professional function. However, Washington doesnt have such a rule, so state regulations are the most favorable to workers in this case and take precedence.


Outside-sales employees are exempt from overtime pay if they customarily work outside their employers place of business and their primary duty is making sales or obtaining orders for which the client or customer will pay a consideration. State law includes three additional overtime-disqualifying conditions, those being if outside-sales employees are on a guaranteed salary, commission, or fee payment; control the total hours they work each week; or spend no more than 20 percent of their time doing inside office work not related to outside sales.


The federal overtime rule changes affect only white-collar workers because most traditional blue-collar workers who perform manual labor, even if highly skilled, must be paid overtime under both state and federal laws.


The new rules dont apply to construction trades, production workers, probation and parole officers, and park rangers. They also dont apply to first responders such as police, firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, ambulance personnel, and rescue and hazardous-material workers.


Agricultural workers, due to the seasonal nature of their work, generally are exempt from overtime.


We dont know what percentage (of Washington workers) will be affected by the federal rule changes overall, says Ron Langley, a spokesman for the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries. To a degree, that will depend on how employers respond, he says. The greatest impact, though, is expected to be felt in the service and retail industries, he adds.


Separate from overtime-related changes, the new federal rules allow employers to impose unpaid disciplinary suspensions of one or more full days for violations of workplace-conduct rules. Washington state law, by comparison, allows unpaid disciplinary suspension in increments of less than one week only for major safety rule violations.


Langley says, We have not received a large number of questions or requests for information (on any of the new rules) at this point. Lingering confusion, though, might lie in the differences between state and federal law, he says.


Under Washington regulations, which closely mirror the old federal rules, most employees who are paid hourly are entitled to be paid time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for any time worked over 40 hours in a seven-day workweek. Some salary- and commission-based workers also must be paid overtime. Both state and federal regulations outline which workers are exempt from overtime-pay requirements, based on their particular job duties.


Now, though, with the federal overtime rules having been revised, employers are required to follow the rulestate or federalthat is most favorable to each specific affected worker, Langley says. Thus, he says, The reality is, these decisions need to be made on a case-by-case basis.


L&I has sought to minimize confusion about the new rules by devoting an area of its Web site to describing how the states overtime requirements relate to the new federal overtime rules. To view that information, go to wages.lni.wa.gov, and click on Overtime & Exemptions.


Langley says, We are just trying to get the word out. We understand that the vast majority of businesses are trying their best to follow the regulations.


Carolyn Logue, Washington state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, says her office hasnt received many calls from member businesses seeking guidance on complying with the new rules. For us, the biggest thing is whats the difference between the federal and state (rules), and how do we change the state (rules) to minimize confusion, she says.


Jeff Selle, spokesman for the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, says the topic hasnt stirred much discussion within that organization.


Elsewhere around the country, some local-government employees have been found to be no longer eligible for overtime pay under the new federal rules, but human-resource department representatives for both the city of Spokane and Spokane County say that hasnt proven to be the case here.