Relates to the definition of overtime ceiling

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Andrew Gounardes says this is needed

Today there are over 400,000 public employees in Tier 6 statewide. Although Transit 25/55 was preserved, there are still several ways that the benefits for Tier 6 transit workers are less than those for Tier 4. One of these is a cap on how much overtime is pensionable for a Tier 6 member. That cap, which is raised each year with the Consumer Price Index, is now $19,729 for 2023. Approximately two-thirds of the TWU Local 100 workforce is in Tier 6. Much of the overtime worked by transit workers is scheduled overtime, built into workers' schedules. Other overtime may be mandatory for special projects or emergencies. Transit workers never assign themselves overtime. Far from being a means for transit workers to milk the system, overtime is essential to how the transit system operates and is an accepted part of a transit worker's livelihood. The rationale for this bill is that many of TWU members routinely accrue mandated overtime in order to complete their shifts. This results in any income they receive which exceeds the $19,729 cap not being pensionable. Additionally, the final average salary (FAS) for Tier 6 transit workers is already calculated in a manner that prevents an employee from arti- ficially inflating their pensionable income prior to retirement, as wages earned during any year under a FAS calculation cannot exceed the average of the previous four years bar` more than ten percent. For these reasons, the overtime cap should be removed for Tier 6 transit workers.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.