福兮？祸兮？千老必看 (转载)# Faculty - 发考题
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【 以下文字转载自 Joke 讨论区 】
发信人: mccoy (小强->大强->老强->强(jiang4)老), 信区: Joke
标 题: 福兮？祸兮？千老必看
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Wed May 25 12:57:34 2016, 美东)
千老算non-exempt的，还有最低工资
Fair Pay for Postdocs: Why We Support New Federal Overtime Rules
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Thomas E. Perez
U.S. Secretary of Labor
The Department of Labor’s recently announced revisions to the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) will make more than 4 million currently exempt U.S.
workers eligible for overtime pay, unless their salaries are raised. Among
them are an estimated 37,000 to 40,000 junior scientists who have emerged as
critical players in modern biomedical research. There has been considerable
concern in both the public and private sectors about how this change will
affect the United States’ ability to carry out leading edge research in an
efficient, cost-effective manner. But as leaders of the nation’s biomedical
research and labor agencies, we are confident the transition can be made in
a way that does not harm — and actually serves to enrich — the future of
our research enterprise.
Commonly called postdoctoral researchers, or “postdocs,” these junior
scientists have recently received a doctoral degree (typically a Ph.D.) and
successfully defended a research thesis grounded in extensive training in
biochemistry, genomics, computer science, or another area of science.
However, these individuals are not yet at the point where they can set up
their own laboratories and become independent researchers. Consequently,
many embark upon a postdoctoral fellowship in a more senior scientist’s lab
to gain a few years of additional training and experience. The average
annual pay for a postdoc is currently estimated to be about $45,000, but
this varies greatly by region and funding source.
Current law entitles all workers in the United States to overtime pay,
unless they are exempted because they are paid on fixed, preset salaries;
are engaged in executive, administrative, or professional duties; and are
paid at least $23,660 per year. The figure of $23,660 was set in 2004 and
has not kept up with inflation. Under the new rule, which was informed by
270,000 public comments, the threshold will be increased to $47,476
effective December 1, 2016.
Many biomedical postdocs are supported by the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), either through specific grants, known as Ruth L. Kirschstein National
Research Service Awards (NRSA), or through standard research grants awarded
to their laboratory chief, typically known as a Principal Investigator.
Despite the postdocs’ extensive training, expertise, and high level of
responsibility, many experts believe their starting salaries are too low.
For example, in the first three years after receiving their degree, NRSA
awardees currently receive awards of $43,692; $45,444; and $47,268 — all
below the newly issued overtime threshold.
Under the new FLSA overtime threshold, universities, teaching hospitals, and
other institutions that employ postdocs have a choice: they can carefully
track their fellows’ hours and pay overtime, or they can raise their
salaries to levels above the threshold and thereby qualify them for
exemption. Biomedical science, by its very nature, is not work that neatly
falls into hourly units or shifts. So, from our vantage point, it seems that
the only option consistent with the professional nature of scientific work
is to increase salaries above the threshold.
We are fully supportive of the increased salary threshold for postdocs.
Indeed, the NIH has been increasing those salaries gradually over the last
several years, even in the face of challenging budget circumstances. But we
acknowledge that more is needed, and we agree with a number of leaders in
biomedical science who have bemoaned the current state of affairs, arguing
that postdoctoral fellows are generally paid salaries that do not adequately
reflect their advanced education and expertise. Some experts have even
explicitly called for starting pay for biomedical postdocs to rise to at
least $50,000 annually.
In response to the proposed FLSA revisions, NIH will increase the awards for
postdoctoral NRSA recipients to levels above the threshold. At the same
time, we recognize that research institutions that employ postdocs will need
to readjust the salaries they pay to postdocs that are supported through
other means, including other types of NIH research grants. While supporting
the increased salaries will no doubt present financial challenges to NIH and
the rest of the U.S. biomedical research enterprise, we plan to work
closely with leaders in the postdoc and research communities to find
creative solutions to ensure a smooth transition.
Our nation should embrace the fact that increasing the salary threshold for
postdocs represents an opportunity to encourage more of our brightest young
minds to consider choosing careers in science. Biomedical science has never
been more exciting or promising than now, and we need to do all we can to
support the next generation of scientists.
发信人: mccoy (小强->大强->老强->强(jiang4)老), 信区: Joke
标 题: 福兮？祸兮？千老必看
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Wed May 25 12:57:34 2016, 美东)
千老算non-exempt的，还有最低工资
Fair Pay for Postdocs: Why We Support New Federal Overtime Rules
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Thomas E. Perez
U.S. Secretary of Labor
The Department of Labor’s recently announced revisions to the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) will make more than 4 million currently exempt U.S.
workers eligible for overtime pay, unless their salaries are raised. Among
them are an estimated 37,000 to 40,000 junior scientists who have emerged as
critical players in modern biomedical research. There has been considerable
concern in both the public and private sectors about how this change will
affect the United States’ ability to carry out leading edge research in an
efficient, cost-effective manner. But as leaders of the nation’s biomedical
research and labor agencies, we are confident the transition can be made in
a way that does not harm — and actually serves to enrich — the future of
our research enterprise.
Commonly called postdoctoral researchers, or “postdocs,” these junior
scientists have recently received a doctoral degree (typically a Ph.D.) and
successfully defended a research thesis grounded in extensive training in
biochemistry, genomics, computer science, or another area of science.
However, these individuals are not yet at the point where they can set up
their own laboratories and become independent researchers. Consequently,
many embark upon a postdoctoral fellowship in a more senior scientist’s lab
to gain a few years of additional training and experience. The average
annual pay for a postdoc is currently estimated to be about $45,000, but
this varies greatly by region and funding source.
Current law entitles all workers in the United States to overtime pay,
unless they are exempted because they are paid on fixed, preset salaries;
are engaged in executive, administrative, or professional duties; and are
paid at least $23,660 per year. The figure of $23,660 was set in 2004 and
has not kept up with inflation. Under the new rule, which was informed by
270,000 public comments, the threshold will be increased to $47,476
effective December 1, 2016.
Many biomedical postdocs are supported by the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), either through specific grants, known as Ruth L. Kirschstein National
Research Service Awards (NRSA), or through standard research grants awarded
to their laboratory chief, typically known as a Principal Investigator.
Despite the postdocs’ extensive training, expertise, and high level of
responsibility, many experts believe their starting salaries are too low.
For example, in the first three years after receiving their degree, NRSA
awardees currently receive awards of $43,692; $45,444; and $47,268 — all
below the newly issued overtime threshold.
Under the new FLSA overtime threshold, universities, teaching hospitals, and
other institutions that employ postdocs have a choice: they can carefully
track their fellows’ hours and pay overtime, or they can raise their
salaries to levels above the threshold and thereby qualify them for
exemption. Biomedical science, by its very nature, is not work that neatly
falls into hourly units or shifts. So, from our vantage point, it seems that
the only option consistent with the professional nature of scientific work
is to increase salaries above the threshold.
We are fully supportive of the increased salary threshold for postdocs.
Indeed, the NIH has been increasing those salaries gradually over the last
several years, even in the face of challenging budget circumstances. But we
acknowledge that more is needed, and we agree with a number of leaders in
biomedical science who have bemoaned the current state of affairs, arguing
that postdoctoral fellows are generally paid salaries that do not adequately
reflect their advanced education and expertise. Some experts have even
explicitly called for starting pay for biomedical postdocs to rise to at
least $50,000 annually.
In response to the proposed FLSA revisions, NIH will increase the awards for
postdoctoral NRSA recipients to levels above the threshold. At the same
time, we recognize that research institutions that employ postdocs will need
to readjust the salaries they pay to postdocs that are supported through
other means, including other types of NIH research grants. While supporting
the increased salaries will no doubt present financial challenges to NIH and
the rest of the U.S. biomedical research enterprise, we plan to work
closely with leaders in the postdoc and research communities to find
creative solutions to ensure a smooth transition.
Our nation should embrace the fact that increasing the salary threshold for
postdocs represents an opportunity to encourage more of our brightest young
minds to consider choosing careers in science. Biomedical science has never
been more exciting or promising than now, and we need to do all we can to
support the next generation of scientists.
