Kentucky Kingdom wants an overtime exemption

Not a very informative article. It mentions legislation but doesn't give any insight into what it is.

in order of derp:

1) They're taking our jobs....

2) build that wall...

Looks like Kentucky requires overtime for non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours per week or who work seven days in a row without a day off. Certain types of jobs are exempt from those rules (often times salaried workers though not always). I would expect that the parks are looking to add certain of their employees to the exempt status who currently are not exempt so they can avoid having the pay the additional cost of overtime.

https://employment.laws.com/kentucky-overtime-laws

which could be quasi manager positions, that are seasonal but not "full time year-round". That is a fine line and arguments could be made on either side (regardless of what the law actually says). However, trying to use the seasonal nature of the work to reclassify front line ride operators and food service underlings would be a step too far in my opinion. I can't tell which scenario is actually in play here.

Sad to see one of my favorite people in the amusement industry gouging his employees like this. -20 respect points.

If they paid overtime they might have a better time of staffing these positions.

Yeah, this isn't the Disney situation at all. People are not lining up to work at a small amusement park in Louisville, KY. That said, it's not like there aren't a ton of college kids in the area. I'm sure they'd be willing to work for some killer beer money for the right price. I don't think they're offering the right price.

Youth employment has been a steadily contracting labor market for the past five decades. It's not just about the beer money anymore.

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/pdf/teen-labor-force-part...ession.pdf

TheAcrophobicEnthusiast said:

Sad to see one of my favorite people in the amusement industry gouging his employees like this. -20 respect points.

I agree, but they're not the only park that does this. An hour's drive west at Holiday World they do not pay overtime to seasonal employees, who start at just over $8 for 18 year olds the last time I heard (not long ago). It's not uncommon for ride ops there to work 60-70 hour weeks - all straight time. "Employees of seasonal amusement establishments" are specifically exempted from overtime under Indiana law. How they get anyone to work there is a miracle.

Easy.

I had a consulting gig that took me to a similar town for a few trips. That town had 3 major employers. The regional hospital, the only Walmart for at least 30 miles, and the place I was working for. My client set up shop there for the tax breaks since the town had double-digit unemployment when the rest of the country was in low single-digits in the mid to late 1990s. A job at slightly above minimum wage beats no job at all in a region like that.