US Department of Labor headquartersWIKIMEDIA, AGNOSTICPREACHERSKIDPostdocs across the country have been on a financial rollercoaster since the end of November. In order to be compliant with new federal regulations from the US Department of Labor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), universities and institutions nationwide were required to raise postdoctoral researchers’ salaries to a $47,476 minimum, or start paying overtime wages to those working more than 40 hours per week. The regulations were set to be required on the first of this month. But a court injunction, granted after 21 states filed against the regulations, halted the process on November 22.
Many universities had already announced salary updates for postdocs. Some institutions, such as Miami University in Ohio, elected to start tracking hours. Administrations sent out new contracts and offered principal investigators (PIs) temporary “bridge” funding to support the salary increases. But when news of the injunction broke, many of these offices put their plans on hold. “A lot of us felt like we were being told we didn't matter,” said Jennifer Riehl, a postdoc in the entomology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). “It makes you ask, ‘Why am I doing this? What is the benefit, especially with the [poor] outlook for being able to continue in academia?’”
“It’s very easy for postdocs to fall through the cracks,” said Gary McDowell, executive director of ...
