Republicans in both houses of Congress introduce Orwellian "Working Families Flexibility Act" [View all]

[YoungDemCA]

The bill:

-Gives private-sector employers the ability to offer their employees the option of comp time or overtime pay, both accrued at 11Ž2
times the overtime hours worked. Federal, State & local governments are currently allowed to offer comp time to their employees, but private-sector employers are banned from doing so by federal law.

-Requires employers who decide to offer this option to their employees to establish a written agreement with the employee outlining the options and to allow each employee to voluntarily choose the option that best fits his needs.

-Requires that comp time agreements be included in the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the union and the employer for any employee represented by a union.

-Allows employees who choose to accrue comp time to accrue up to 160 hours each year.'

-Allows employees to “cash out” their accrued comp time at the traditional overtime pay rate at any time throughout the year.

-Maintains all existing employee protections, including the current 40-hour workweek and overtime accrual, and provides additional safeguards to ensure that the choice to use comp time is voluntary.

-Requires employers to pay employees at the traditional overtime rate for any unused comp time at the end of each calendar year.

-Ends the unfair discrimination against private-sector employees

-Enables parents to better balance work and family obligations

-Frees all workers to choose which commodity – time or money – is the more important resource at a given time

-Lessens the burden of unnecessary federal regulation

http://www.lanereport.com/43752/2015/01/sen-mcconnell-introduces-working-family-flexibility-act/

Doing some quick research, I found that this is not the first time that the Republicans in Congress have introduced this bill.

From April 2013:

The bill replaces the 40-hour work week with a “comp time” accrual system that would allow employers greater control over their hourly employee’s schedule.

What’s worse?The bill ends ”time-and-a-half” overtime pay for hourly and non-exempt workers as we know it, giving renewed incentive for businesses to work their employees as long as they want with near impunity.

In other words, the bill does the opposite of what House Republicans say it will.

snip:

“Comp time” undermines the 40-hour work week. Quick history review: in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) became law. We say it “established” the 40-hour work week, but really it just “encouraged” it, by telling employers that for any hours worked past 40, workers had to be time-and-a-half and receive it in their next pay period. The idea was you get eight hours at work, eight hours to sleep, and eight hours to do whatever you want. Another goal of time-and-a -half pay was to give employers a financial incentive to hire more workers when they have more work, instead of forcing workers already on the job to work beyond their scheduled hours.

With “comp time,” employers are encouraged to do the opposite. Making overtime less expensive to employers means more workers being scheduled for 50 or 60-hour shifts. Which means less time with your family – not more.

“Comp time” encourages mandatory overtime – and ends overtime pay as we know it. Instead of time-and-a-half pay for hours worked past 40, workers would get “comp time,” hours of time off to be taken later. Employers benefit because they don’t have to pay overtime, plus, they can have you use your comp time in a way that won’t cost them extra (during less busy periods, etc.).

According to the bill, individual employees have the “choice” between comp time or overtime pay. Since comp time saves the employer money, what is stopping them from inducing workers, subtly or not, into choosing comp time? They could give the “comp time” workers better shifts and better treatment, and they could even train workers not to take the overtime options – in the same way that Target and other stores train workers not to join unions.

Don’t be fooled: this is a pay cut. Again, having hours off “at some point” sounds nice. But overall, workers’ take home pay will go down, because that supplemental income you would’ve had from working overtime will disappear. Besides, depending on your schedule, you could get to December 31 without having the chance to use your accrued comp time, at which point you are left with no time off and no extra pay.

More here: http://blog.workingamerica.org/2013/04/26/7-things-you-should-know-about-comp-time-and-the-working-families-flexibility-act/

Gotta hand it to the Republicans...they certainly know how to make draconian right-wing policies sound great! "Working Families Flexibility?" Who could object to a title like that? Well, if it sounds too good to be true....it probably is.