That’s because the 500-page law is so dense and contains so many variables no one knows for sure how it will affect Maine workers and businesses.

“It’s pretty hard to predict,” said Anne Harriman, director of the wage and hour division of the state Department of Labor.

Although the update trims the overtime law from 31,000 to 15,000 words, there’s still plenty of room for interpretation. Labor specialists expect the law will be better understood as challenges to it result in court cases. Until precedents are set, most employers and labor groups are taking a wait-and-see attitude.

“It’s not a dyed-in-the-wool or black and white thing at all,” said Jeff Young, counsel for the Maine chapter of the AFL-CIO. “The one group that will make more money from it will probably be lawyers.”

The law changes many of the standards that determine when someone is eligible to earn overtime pay, including base pay and job responsibilities. Certain categories of workers are expected to be more affected than others, among them fast food workers, telemarketers, nurses, reporters, insurance claims adjusters and computer specialists.

The proposal has been making political hay since it was introduced by the Bush administration last year. Opponents say the law will exclude overtime pay to 6 million workers who had been eligible; proponents say 1.5 million new, low-income workers will be eligible for overtime and it will save companies millions in litigation costs.

The law, which is the first significant update of the federal Fair Labor Standards since 1949, raises the minimum amount a person needs to earn to be exempt from overtime, from $155 per week to $455 per week. Anyone who makes less than $455 a week is eligible for overtime; more than that and other standards are applied.

For instance, a person who spends a portion of his day doing supervisory work, but who isn’t considered a manager, could be affected by the new law.

Young paints a scenario of a fast food worker who earns $7 per hour and who closes the restaurant each night. Since the worker earns $280 a week, he is eligible for overtime under the wage standard of the new law. But if his job entails closing the restaurant at the end of his shift and supervising two or more employees while he does that, then he could be exempt. Young said that leaves the restaurant with the decision of whether to pay the worker $455 a week and classify him as exempt from overtime, or change his job to exclude any supervisory responsibilities.

The update also tinkers with professional job classifications, eliminating the requirement that executives or administrators have to routinely “exercise discretion and independent judgment” in their jobs. It also changes the standards for determining other exemptions.

For reporters and computer specialists, the question is whether the work they perform is creative versus routine in nature. With nurses, it’s a question of certification versus advanced knowledge.

Preparing for Aug. 23

“I think employers will be very cautious with this new law,” said Nancy Lavoie, vice president of the Central Maine Human Resources Association, “especially if they feel they will have to defend any decision in court.”

Several industries have held seminars and workshops alerting human resources directors to the new laws which take effect Aug. 23. Lavoie, who works at Geiger, and Harriman said they expect companies will review the new law as it pertains to their specific circumstances and then decide whether to make changes in their job classifications.

In Geiger’s case, no exempt employees make less than $455 a week, so there won’t be a “great impact on employees here,” said Lavoie.

Businesses are divided about the cost of the law. The Justice Department, which wrote the new regulation, expects there will be a one-time cost of $738 million to review the law and $375 million annually thereafter for companies to bring employees in line with the new standards.

Because the update clarifies many portions of the old overtime law, businesses expect to save $250 million per year in avoided lawsuits. In 1997, there were 31 federal lawsuits over overtime regulations; there were 102 in 2003.

John Hanson, director of the Bureau of Labor Education at the University of Maine, said that’s not a bad ratio of lawsuits given the country’s 7 million employers. And he’s not convinced the new law will avoid legal battles. In fact, for smaller employers who usually deal with non-union employees, there could be greater potential. A disgruntled employee will often file a lawsuit since they have no union rep or labor organization to advocate on their behalf. And since most small businesses in Maine don’t have on-staff attorneys, that could spell more legal headaches.

“Things could get all knotted up with lawsuits,” he said.

The Maine State Chamber is waiting to see what the final regulations will look like as it continues its trek through Congress, where there are some efforts to refine the rules. According to spokesman Peter Gore, the rules were due for an overhaul. Adjusting salaries could mean additional costs for Maine businesses, but Gore said it could be worth it.

“I think a lot of businesses will see it as fair trade-off to avoid the cost of litigation,” he said.