Congressman Tim Ryan Votes Against So Called Working Families Flexibility Act
Washington, DC - Congressman Tim Ryan Yesterday voted against the so called Working Families Flexibility Act, otherwise known as H.R. 1180. This legislation would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow employers to pay workers nothing for overtime work in exchange for a promise of compensatory time off in the future.
“This legislation undermines the right to hard-earned overtime pay -- pay that many families in my district and across the country use to make ends meet. It is unconscionable that Republicans in Congress, after claiming time and time again to be fighting for the middle class, would then turn around and punish people for putting in extra hours. Pay for an honest day’s work is one of the foundations of our society, and every American should be paid for the time they put in” said Congressman Ryan.
The “Working Families Flexibility Act” means more work and less pay for Americans, not flexibility for the worker. Under the GOP bill:
- For workers getting comp time instead of overtime pay, their promised comp time would go into an employer-controlled pot to be paid later.
- An employer can refuse to allow a worker to take time off to deal with a family member or attend a parent-teacher conference. This is not real flexibility for workers.
- Employers could schedule excessive overtime hours and only offer overtime work to workers who agree to take comp time instead of overtime wages.
- Since unused comp time will not be paid to workers until the end of the year, this amounts to an interest-free loan out of workers’ pockets to the employer.