07/10/2015

Change in overtime rules will challenge many newspapers

By Dennis Hetzel, Executive Director

We have quite a bit to discuss today. Here are my topics, in order:

• The ONA has urged the Ohio delegation in Congress to challenge the proposed changes in overtime rules that could severely impact many of our members.
• No surprise, journalists in Ohio now join those in other states who have lost all access to concealed carry permit records.
• The Ohio Supreme Court issued its fourth good decision on transparency in a row and supported the Chagrin Falls newspaper in a libel case involving Murray Energy Corp.

New overtime rules and you: Be alarmed

As many of you know, the Obama Administration has proposed a huge increase in the annual wage threshold for the payment of overtime. Under current rules, employees making $23,600 a year ($465 a week) or less cannot be exempt from overtime rules.

The President reportedly plans to use his executive powers to increase that to $50,440 per year, or $984 a week. This also may be indexed, so it could go even higher. The plan now is open to public comment.

In other words, for many exempt employees making that amount or less, employers could face some combination of these options starting in 2016:

• Increase their pay so they can remain exempt.
• Reduce their pay so that the overtime you will be paying roughly equals the current cost of the position.
• Retain their pay for the standard work week and accept the added overtime cost.
• Adjust elsewhere in your operation to deal with the increased expense, perhaps with job cuts, reductions in hours or moving hours to part-time positions..

While the “targets” of this action are retailers and restaurants that often pay low wages to managers who spend a lot of time doing non-managerial work, it certainly would affect our industry. Many of your advertisers will face those same choices.

Perhaps $23,600 is too low. But, unquestionably, a one-size-fits-all mandate of $50,440 is way too high.

The administration seems determined to go forward. According to the Associated Press, the Department of Labor can enact the change without approval by Congress. Still, efforts have begun to exert pressure in various ways, so we have sent a letter to the Ohio delegation. I urge our members to reach out as well, particularly to Democrats who could have more influence with the Obama Administration.

You can read the letter by clicking here. Here is an excerpt:

There are hundreds of employees with legitimate supervisory authority making less than $50,400 in all departments of many Ohio newspapers, up to and including editors, general managers and ad directors in some cases. This is particularly true in smaller communities. That speaks first to the lower cost of living in these communities. At a minimum, we would strenuously argue that the $50,440 figure is much too high a threshold.

It also is no secret that newspapers face economic challenges. Our industry is working feverishly to develop sustaining revenue models so that we can continue to provide the local journalism that Ohio citizens want and need across multiple platforms. The impact of this proposed change by the Obama Administration will be direct and harmful to our members… Readers will feel the impact of inevitable cutbacks to news coverage, delivery service and other areas.

This also will ripple out in harmful ways to many of our advertisers – local businesses and entrepreneurs themselves in many cases – who will face the difficult choice of increasing expense, cutting staff or doing both…

This is a complicated subject. I urge members to seek human resource or legal direction to determine the impact and options for your newspaper. Let us know if we can help in that process. Here is a more detailed overview on the law and the administration’s proposal from the National Law Review.

You also will note in the letter that we are supporting legislation to rein in “patent trolls.” Some of our members have been caught in litigation that amounts to little more than legal extortion in which someone claims an obscure patent is being violated, often with software applications. The trolls hope you’ll pay up with a sweet settlement to avoid the cost of continuing in these complex cases.

Farewell to CCW records; leaders play charter school games

Gov. John Kasich did not share our view that he should veto language in the budget bill so that Ohio journalists would continue to have access to concealed carry permits. The 88 Ohio sheriffs now will maintain completely secret databases with no opportunity for any outside scrutiny of how the law is carried out. For example, you can’t confirm whether a convicted felon either had a license or had the license revoked as the law requires.

We weren’t surprised but had to try. I should note that the governor’s staff gave us an opportunity to make our case, as I told a reporter at the Sandusky Register. We’ve had some successes in the past.

Kasich has consistently signed legislation gun groups have supported, and he mended fences with the NRA after the NRA endorsed Ted Strickland for governor -- because Kasich voted for a ban on so-called assault weapons in Congress. The governor had a choice of annoying journalists or annoying gun groups, and he likely was predisposed to their position. And, well, his future plans just might require their support.

More surprising and, in my opinion, a bigger problem was the failure of meaningful charter school reform to reach Kasich’s desk. The bill offered good improvements to transparency – an important fix for a program that involves nearly $1 billion in taxpayer money and has turned Ohio’s oversight into a national joke, even among charter-school proponents.

Published accounts agree that the votes were there to pass the bill. Instead, House Republican leaders stopped it, saying it needed more consideration. The charter school operators continue to wield great political influence. For example, former House Speaker Bill Batchelder lobbies for them now.

I predict mischief will be done to this good legislation when we see it again. Hope I’m wrong.

Ohio Supreme Court stands up for citizens in Murray libel case

It was a narrow, 4-3, decision, which is concerning, but this is a good win and an important case. These are the types of lawsuits that have a chilling effect, not only on news organizations but everyday citizens.

The battle isn’t over. Murray Energy says it will appeal for reconsideration. You can read more coverage here from The Columbus Dispatch.   A few excerpts:

A divided Ohio Supreme Court refused to accept Ohio coal-mining magnate Bob Murray’s appeal of a lower court ruling dismissing a defamation lawsuit he filed against a small newspaper.

Murray contested a ruling that he was not defamed by the Chagrin Valley Times when it published a story, column and editorial cartoon that Murray found unflattering and considered false.

…The court found that Murray is a public figure and had not demonstrated actual malice – a knowing and reckless disregard of the truth – required to prevail.

… In his filing with the Ohio Supreme Court, Murray criticized the Eighth District Court of Appeals for suggesting in its opinion that Ohio needs a law to slap down nuisance lawsuits filed to discourage public or press comment on issues of public concern.

This is why Ohio needs an anti-SLAPP law. (SLAPP stands for “Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation,” which are lawsuits designed to chill the exercise of free expression.) The appellate court took an extraordinary step in calling for such legislation. It should be heeded.