Committee Republicans Pass Labor Bills That Harm Workers
WASHINGTON – Today, Committee Republicans advanced three labor bills that would further burden employees and their ability to earn fair wages.
“The consistent theme across these bills appears to be one message, and that is: ‘How do we, as Congress, further tip the scales in favor of corporations to harm workers and their ability to earn a decent wage?,’” said Ranking Member Scott. “These bills are particularly egregious, given this morning’s announcement that the economy continues to slow, and the new numbers show that the Trump Administration has managed two months of job loss this year, the first months of job loss since the last time Trump was President.”
H.R. 2870, the Working Families Flexibility Act, undermines the Fair Labor Standards Act by allowing employers to give employees compensatory time (or ‘comp time’) instead of paying them time-and-a-half for overtime that they have earned.
H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employee Protection Act, expands the pool of workers employers can pay a tipped wage. This is problematic because tipped workers get paid less per hour and have less access to benefits such as paid sick leave, health care, short-term disability, or life insurance.
H.R. 2299, the Ensuring Workers Get PAID Act, codifies the Trump Administration’s Payroll Audit Independent Determination (or PAID) program, which was at the Department of Labor (DOL). The PAID program would allow employers, who willingly acknowledge that they have committed wage theft, to simply conduct a self-audit and repay only the wages they already owe, with no penalties.
Instead of addressing the increasing cost of living, these bills further tip the scales against workers and make it harder for them to earn a decent living or be protected from wage theft.
Read Ranking Member Scott’s opening statement here.
Read Democratic amendments and letters of opposition to H.R. 2870, H.R. 2312, and H.R. 2299 here
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