Dr. Bucshon Votes to Give Working Parents More Flexibility

Eighth District Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. released the following statement after voting this week to pass legislation giving private-sector workers the choice to accrue paid time off rather than cash wages for overtime hours worked — a choice that has long been afforded to government employees.

“The concept of this bill is simple. If an employee works overtime hours, he or she should be free to choose between receiving compensatory time off or traditional overtime pay. For some working Americans, paid time off from work may be more valuable than more money in their next paycheck.  Providing this kind of flexibility to hardworking moms and dads will allow them to better manage work and family responsibilities, and gets Washington out of the business of dictating to working Americans how they’re compensated for overtime work,” said Bucshon. “This commonsense legislation gives private-sector employees the same freedom and control over their work-life balance that is currently afforded to government employees. It’s a win for Hoosier families.”

 

BACKGROUND

H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility Act, amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to give private-sector employees the option of selecting compensatory time off in lieu of cash for overtime wages. An employee will be able to choose, based upon a voluntary agreement with his or her employer, to have his or her overtime compensated with paid time off. This option has been available for federal, state, and local governments for many years.

The legislation does not change the 40-hour work week and does not change the rate of compensation of non-exempt employees. The legislation provides employees strong protections against the coercive use of compensatory time. For example, the arrangement must be an expressly mutual agreement between employee and employer, and may not be a condition of employment. To be eligible, an employee must have worked at least 1,000 hours in a period of continuous employment with the employer during the preceding 12-month period and an agreement must be affirmed by a written or otherwise verifiable statement.

An employee can accrue up to 160 hours of compensatory time each year and any unused time must be paid out at the end of the year or at the end of employment with the employer.