On May 8, the House passed, 223-204, the Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1406). The Education and the Workforce Committee approved the legislation on April 17 (see The Source, 4/19/13).
According to the committee report, the bill, sponsored by Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), would allow “private-sector employers to offer their employees the option of selecting compensatory time off in lieu of receiving cash overtime wages.”
During consideration of the bill, the House adopted, 384-42, an amendment by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) to require the General Accountability Office to study the usage of compensatory time under the bill and any complaints filed for violations of the bill.
Speaking in support of the legislation, Rep. Roby said, “[A]s a working mom, my husband, Riley, and I certainly relate to and understand the pulls on families that are juggling so much between their work life and their home life. If you talk to any working mom or dad, you’ll hear them say things like, wouldn’t it be nice to have flexibility to attend my son’s soccer game, coach a tee ball team, take care of my aging parent, or be there to support my children at a time when one of the spouses is being deployed by our military. These are all things that working moms and dads want to be a part of. Those that have elderly parents want to be there for their parents in their time of need. We can’t legislate another hour in the workday, but we sure can give moms and dads a little bit of relief when it comes to flexibility in their workplace.”
“If this bill becomes law, which we know it won’t, a single mom living paycheck to paycheck could work more than 40 hours a week and receive no overtime pay in her paycheck,” said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), speaking in opposition to the legislation. “She would still have to pay the babysitter that week for the extra hours she spent on the job with no guarantee she’ll be able to take the comp time off when she needs it. She would have to accept the days off her employer offers – that might not match her schedule – or else wait up to a year to receive the pay that’s rightfully hers. And if the business closes, she’s out of luck and out of pay. Instead of getting a paycheck that includes overtime, she’ll be forced to decide between an interest-free loan to her employer, or time off when it’s convenient for her boss, not for her.”