Committee Sends Bill to Floor that Weakens Overtime Pay, 40-Hour Workweek
WASHINGTON – The House Education and the Workforce Committee today pushed through a bill (H.R. 1406) on a partisan vote that would force working families to make an unnecessary choice between overtime pay they rely on and time off they need to meet family obligations. The bill is expected to receive full consideration in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks.
“This bill is really about working more and getting less at the end of the week,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the committee. “Working mothers and fathers want and need greater control over their lives, so that they can pay the bills and see their families. But this bill is not about providing employees with greater flexibility.”
H.R. 1406 would allow employers to offer compensatory time off in exchange for any overtime wages the worker has earned. For instance, under current law, an hourly employee is paid at 1.5 times the rate of their wage for hours worked more than 40 hours in a week. However, under this bill, the employer can take all of those wages earned above 40 hours and put them into a pot for future time off that is controlled by the employer. In other words, the worker would not get paid for the work they perform during their current pay period. Unused time would be paid back at the end of the year, amounting to a no-interest loan to employers from workers.
Current law already allows employers to let their employees earn paid time off. Rather than forcing employees to choose between overtime pay and time off, Democrats offered a number of amendments to give workers real flexibility without jeopardizing their overtime pay.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) offered an amendment modeled on the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1286), a bill to allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days a year without affecting their overtime pay. Committee Republicans voted unanimously to block consideration of the amendment.
“This proposal will move the ball forward in terms of worker flexibility to allow them to deal with the largest workplace issue, which is their own health,” said Courtney.
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) offered an amendment that reinstates current law so workers don’t have to choose between overtime pay and comp time.
“With this amendment, employees would not have to sacrifice overtime pay for essential time off,” said Rep. Wilson. “Working families need help managing the dual responsibilities of work and home. Congress needs to fight for robust worker protections. This is not only good ethics but good economics.”
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) offered an amendment that would protect comp time wages by requiring that unpaid overtime wages be deposited into an interest-bearing account, protected from bankruptcy.
“H.R. 1406 is effectively an interest-free loan made by a worker to his or her employer. While holding these wages, employers can use the dollars for any purpose they choose. They can even deposit the wages into an account and keep the interest,” said Bonamici.
Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) offered an amendment that applies public-sector employee protections to private-sector employers if they offer comp time in lieu of overtime pay.
“Time after time, we have heard our Republican colleagues argue that extending compensatory time agreement to private employees is simply offering to them the same benefits enjoyed by those in the public sector. I believe these comparisons are faulty,” said Bishop. “If we are going to ask employees to reduce their take-home pay, and that will be the outcome with the passage of this bill, at least we should be willing to give them the same workplace protections that their public sector counterparts enjoy.”
Committee Republicans voted unanimously against these Democratic amendments.
More information on H.R. 1406, including letters of opposition.
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