Ranking Member Scott Slams Republican Plans to Cut Workers’ Wages
WASHINGTON –Today, Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, House Committee on Education and Workforce, spoke in opposition to H.R. 2262, H.R. 2270, and H.R. 2313, which would cut workers’ wages.
H.R. 2262, Flexibility for Workers Education Act
Watch Ranking Member Scott’s remarks on YouTube.
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
“Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2262, the so-called Flexibility for Workers Education Act.
“We’ve heard about these ‘roadblocks’ and ‘obstacles.’ Well, the roadblocks and obstacles are a requirement that people get paid for their time.
“Too many Americans work hard but cannot afford the basics, such as groceries, rent, or utilities. Even more, they are struggling to afford the little extras that give you a slice of the American Dream – like owning a home, taking your family on vacation, or even going to a restaurant occasionally. Simply put, the economy just isn’t working for everybody.
“According to Moody’s Analytics, the top 10 percent of earners account for nearly 50 percent of all U.S. consumer spending. So obviously, something’s out of whack.
“Despite this reality, House Republicans are attempting to pass three bills this afternoon that would cut workers’ wages.
“This bill, H.R. 2262, would relieve employers of the obligation to pay employees for training outside their regular working hours.
“Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees must be compensated for employer-mandated education and training outside their regular work hours. Essentially, the FLSA protects workers from being compelled to volunteer their time for job-related training without wage and hour protections.
“However, this bill significantly weakens these protections because it would permit employers to provide job-related training after hours and off the clock, so long as they do not state that it is “technically required.”
“However, employers can still lead workers to believe that the training is needed. You can just imply that if you want a raise or a promotion, it would be nice to get the training. Well, that’s not really “required,” but this legislation is based on the flawed premise that if you provide workers with certain opportunities or benefits, employers must be able to pay them less. That doesn’t make sense.
“We should not let employers get away with failing to pay workers for their time while claiming it is in the workers’ best interests. These workers, if they’re working on an employer-provided training, should not be required to work off the clock without any compensation. For that reason, I recommend a no vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
H.R. 2270, Empowering Child and Elder Care Solutions Act
Watch Ranking Member Scott’s remarks on YouTube.
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2270, the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act. Unfortunately, it doesn’t solve anything. It doesn’t provide any additional child or elder care.
“Under current law — well, what it does do is take money out of people’s pockets, because under current law, employers must pay hourly workers time and a half for hours worked over 40 in a week. That overtime rate is based on the worker’s regular rate of pay, which includes not only the cash payment but also non-wage compensation, and presently includes the value of child or dependent care services when employers decide to provide them as part of a benefits package. Existing law already provides incentives for these benefits, allowing employers to deduct them as a cost of doing business and offering tax preferences for certain child and dependent care assistance.
“This bill would change the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to exclude the value of these services from the regular rate used to calculate overtime. Despite its name, the bill does not require employers to provide any child or elder care. Instead, it just reduces the cost of overtime if they provide it.
“That’s the problem. In practice, this bill encourages employers to keep workers on the job longer rather than expanding access to affordable care. It increases time away from families while offering no assurance that any support for child care will be provided. Workers who already receive these benefits will see their overtime pay reduced. There is no evidence that these workers who do not receive this benefit are likely to get the benefit. The only group we know for certain will be affected is those who already had it, and they will lose money on overtime. That makes no sense. I don’t know how that solves anything. I would hope that we would not reduce workers’ pay, but to do that, we have to oppose the legislation.
“I reserve the balance of my time.”
H.R. 2312, Tipped Employee Protection Act
Watch Ranking Member Scott’s remarks on YouTube.
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employee Protection Act. It’s actually the Tipped Employer Protection Act.
“Today, we are discussing one of several bills that House Republicans claim will benefit workers but ultimately falls short of what workers need.
“H.R. 2312 would redefine the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to make workers more vulnerable to wage theft and to give employers an excuse not to pay workers what they are otherwise owed.
“Under the present law, the FLSA allows employers to take a tip credit only if employees are in jobs where they regularly and customarily earn at least $30 a month in tips. If workers split their time between jobs that regularly earn tips and jobs that don’t, such as one shift as a restaurant server and another as a restaurant line cook, the employer can apply the tip credit today only to the tip-earning shifts.
“This bill would tear down that distinction.
“Ultimately, this bill seeks to expand the pool of workers employers can pay a subminimum wage rather than the full wage. This is problematic because tipped workers are paid less per hour and have less access to benefits such as sick leave, health care, short-term disability, and life insurance. In fact, the federal tipped minimum wage is only $2.13 an hour.
“Instead of giving workers a leg up, this bill offers bad actors an opportunity to cut corners and shortchange their workers. For that reason, I oppose the bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
“I reserve the balance of my time.”
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