Wilson Narrows Scope of His Post-Quake Overtime Waiver

Gov. Pete Wilson on Tuesday narrowed a post-earthquake order intended to ease traffic congestion by encouraging flexibility on work schedules.

The governor’s order had exempted employers in five Southern California counties from a state requirement that they pay most employees--including part-timers--overtime wages if they work more than eight hours in a single day.

The aim was to take some cars off the freeways during rush hours by having employees work four 10-hour days a week and other flexible schedules.

On Tuesday, Wilson narrowed the scope of the order to Los Angeles and Ventura counties. He cited improved traffic conditions and speedy repairs to earthquake-damaged roads. As a result, he said, effective May 15, the waiver of daily overtime no longer will apply to Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Under both the old and the new orders, employees who work more than 40 hours in a week still are entitled to overtime pay.

Wilson’s original order split business and labor groups. Labor officials worried that it was a back-door assault on the eight-hour work day. Business leaders regarded it as a challenge to old workplace rules that have damaged the state’s economy by making it a tough place in which to run a business.

Tom Rankin, research director for the California Labor Federation, called Wilson’s revision of the order an improvement, because, he said, it “never made much sense in the first place.”

Stanley R. Kyker, executive vice president of the California Restaurant Assn., said he supports efforts aimed at encouraging flexible scheduling in the workplace.

Still, he said, the temporary nature of the daily overtime waiver has deterred most restaurants from taking advantage of it.