2023-05-16                     Senate Journal                      Page 1208
SB 153                                                                                                                        
SENATE BILL NO. 153 BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE                                                                               
BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR, entitled:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
              "An Act exempting certain employees from overtime                                                                
               pay requirements; and providing for an effective                                                                
          date."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
was read the first time and referred to the Labor and Commerce and                                                              
Finance Committees.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
The following fiscal information was published today:                                                                           
 Fiscal Note No. 1, Department of Labor and Workforce                                                                           
          Development                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Governor's transmittal letter dated May 15:                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Dear President Stevens:                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Under the authority of Article III, Section 18, of the Alaska                                                                   
Constitution, I am transmitting a bill regarding Alaska's overtime laws                                                         
relating to employees of various facilities licensed under AS 47.32,                                                            

2023-05-16                     Senate Journal                      Page 1209
including ambulatory surgical centers. The bill provides an exemption                                                           
from overtime pay requirements for employees of these facilities if                                                             
they choose to enter into a voluntary flexible work plan with their                                                             
employer.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
To improve and extend healthcare access, the availability of medical                                                            
services that do not require hospital admissions has increased                                                                  
nationally and within Alaska; however, non-hospital medical facilities                                                          
are at a disparity for managing the work-life balance of healthcare                                                             
employees when compared with hospitals, where employees are                                                                     
exempted from the daily overtime requirement. The result has been a                                                             
noticeable migration of nurses and other critical healthcare staff to                                                           
hospitals where a more flexible schedule allows the employee greater                                                            
control over their time.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Alaska law requires overtime pay for eligible employees to begin                                                                
either after eight working hours in a day or after 40 cumulative hours                                                          
in a workweek. Employees may, however, work up to 10 hours a day                                                                
without triggering the overtime requirement if they have a written                                                              
voluntary flexible work plan agreement with their employer that has                                                             
been filed with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development                                                               
and the department has issued a certificate approving the plan. An                                                              
employee working longer than 10 hours a day, or 40 hours in a week,                                                             
is paid at the overtime rate.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
This bill would increase the hours that flexible work plan employees                                                            
of certain facilities may work before triggering overtime pay from 10                                                           
to 12 hours. These facilities include ambulatory surgical centers,                                                              
freestanding birth centers, home health agencies, hospices,                                                                     
intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities,                                                    
residential psychiatric treatment centers, rural health clinics, and                                                            
subacute mental health facilities.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
This bill would not affect existing flexible work plan agreements, but                                                          
it would permit employees working at these facilities to negotiate                                                              
plans up to 12 hours per day going forward. Employees of these                                                                  
facilities would still be subject to a total of 40 hours per week for                                                           
overtime pay.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                

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This bill will impart flexibility for healthcare workers and provide                                                            
stability for Alaska's healthcare system.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
I urge your prompt and favorable action on this measure.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Sincerely,                                                                                                                      
/s/                                                                                                                             
Mike Dunleavy                                                                                                                   
Governor