The Republican House is considering the falsely named “Working Families Flexibility Act” (H.R. 1180), which allows employers to deny overtime pay when employees work extra hours. This legislation would disproportionately impact women, people of color, and low-income workers who rely on overtime pay to make ends meet.
This is a legislative move to overwork and underpay working people and directly harm American families.
An employee working overtime should be compensated for their hours. Under this bill, employers can avoid paying for those extra hours, interest-free, for up to 13 months. In exchange, they can offer future “comp time,” but it’s not guaranteed and employers can deny the request if it seems “disruptive.”
Working people’s income is on payday, payment for overtime can be delayed for months and months, and puts employees’ pay at risk if anything happens to the business. In 2013 alone, 400,000 small businesses closed. Nothing in the legislation provides workers whose employer goes out of business with a guarantee to receive payment for accrued comp time.
This bill is yet another ruse by big money to cut costs at the expense of working families. Instead of offering flexibility, this bill would erode hourly workers’ ability to earn a fair living and control their work schedules.
To give credit where credit is due, I stole most of the above from an email from the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD):
populardemocracy.org
Co-sponsors of H.R. 1180 are Bradley Byrne (AL-01) and Glenn Grothman (WI-06).
Congressman Grothman is famous in Wisconsin for his pronouncements on women, religion, homosexuality, even Kwanzaa.
host.madison.com/…
Congresswoman Roby has repeatedly mounted attacks on overtime and stuff that benefits working American families.
roby.house.gov/…
Look for interesting developments in Alabama’s Second Congressional District in 2018.
Spoke too soon. Look for interesting developments in Alabama immediately:
www.politico.com/…
2017 SPECIAL ELECTION FOR SESSIONS’ VACATED SENATE SEAT!