Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013

Floor Speech

Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1406, The Working Families Flexibility Act. This bill is a sham! It does not offer working families flexibility, nor does it protect employee rights. But what it does is strip employees of their rights by eliminating the Federal Labor Standards Act statute guaranteeing overtime pay for time worked over 40 hours per week.

It shifts control of overtime from a monetarily incentivized program for the employee to an employer-controlled one incentivized by cheaper labor and less need to hire more workers. This bill also contains no avenue for employees to file grievances if requests for time off are denied or not responded to.

Under H.R. 1406, after the employee makes a request to use compensatory time, the employer's only responsibility is to permit the employee ``to use such time within a reasonable period after making the request if the use of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.'' There is no responsibility on the part of the employer to respond in a timely manner or accommodate an employee request.

H.R. 1406 turns back years of hard won victories for American workers and their families by undermining the Federal Labor Standards Act and giving the employer virtually complete control over when the overtime is used.

The AFL-CIO, the Communication Workers of America, the National Partnership for Women & Families, and numerous other organizations oppose this bill. However, imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce also urging me to oppose this bill!

As a rule, Chambers of Commerce usually support ``pro-employer'' bills. However, in this case, the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce wrote, ``all employers want as low a payroll expenditure as possible but there is a reason to be concerned that employers incentivized by H.R. 1406 would reward those employees who agree to ``comp time'' in lieu of overtime payments. Employers incentivized by a reduced payroll might well give ``comp time'' employees the preferred shifts, the needed hours, and the promotions. There is no protection in H.R. 1406 against this kind of employer behavior.''

Make no mistake about it--H.R. 1406 hurts American workers and their families. This bill is just another Republican attempt to destroy the American worker. So I ask my colleagues to join me in opposing H.R. 1406.

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