Part of a series on the labor practices of the Des Moines Metro Opera.
For years, Des Moines Metro Opera leaders have explained to their workers that they are “generally exempt from overtime.”
Employee timecards and paychecks show they sometimes work 80, 90 or even more than 100 hours a week. In the workers’ contracts reviewed by the Des Moines Register, the opera’s leaders describe their employment as “seasonal.”
This term is a reference to an obscure federal labor law: Any “seasonal amusement” business does not have to pay overtime or minimum wage. The exemption applies to any business that operates for seven months or fewer in a year.
The opera employs most of its workers from May through July and stages shows for about three weeks each summer. The organization has used the exemption to deny overtime since at least 2013, according to employee contracts and an internal company email that the Register reviewed.
DMMO General and Artistic Director Michael Egel told the Register that the company has increased pay for production workers by 185%. Interns' daily rates increased to $75 from $37 in 2021, and he said the company has tried to limit their workloads to ensure they don't earn less than the minimum wage of $7.50 an hour.
Egel added that the opera has prioritized workers' wages as its donations have increased.
"Our compensation is in line with industry standards and applicable law," he said. "Every year, we work to find ways to make strides and changes in that.”
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