So I missed this because I’m super busy for the next month,
but Katie
J.M. Baker had a post on Jezebel about the “Working Families Flexibility
Act,” which as she says is crap. Naturally, the House of Representatives passed
the Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1406) on Wednesday, which amends the
Fair Labor Standards Act by allowing employers and workers to “choose” to take
compensatory time off rather than get time and a half overtime pay.
Republicans claim this is great for busy moms, but everyone
else is pretty sure that the “flexible” act would deliberately make it harder for
workers to balance home and work. Just to be clear instead of working on paid
sick leave, the US House of Representatives wants to destroy overtime for comp
time. More than 80% of private sector workers are low wage workers and can’t
get one paid sick day. More than 40% of all workers can’t get unpaid leave
under the Family Medical Leave Act, but the GOP is focusing on eliminating overtime
pay. This means working more for less money, make no mistake.
First this bill will be hard to enforce. The DOL (Department
of Labor) is already having trouble enforcing regulations, and with only 6% of
private sector employees being unionized no one will be watching the
enforcement. What happens is an employee feels pressured to take comp time
instead of overtime? Or will employees who choose overtime have few chances for
extra hours than their peers choosing comp time? Will there be a cap on comp
time or stipulations on having to use it or lose it like vacation?
Additionally, the time and a half clause in the Fair Labor
Standards Act is the governor of the 40 hour work week. Employers don’t make
employees work more than 40 hours a week because it is expensive (though now, I
think health insurance also contributes to this full-time/part-time distinction
and the rise of part-time workers who don’t get overtime often anyway).
Finally, employers might get to decide when employees can use their earned comp
time.
We do not like this. It cuts the pay of low wage workers “flexibility”
be damned. The Obama administration said he would veto the bill. The White
House said “This legislation undermines the existing right to hard-earned overtime
pay, one which many working families rely to make ends meet, while
misrepresenting itself as a workplace-flexibility measure that gives power to
employees over their over schedules.”
