House OKs Bill Substituting Days Off for Overtime Pay

The House, acting quickly on one of the most important small business issues pending in Congress, passed a bill Tuesday allowing employers to give their employees paid time off instead of overtime pay.

The 225-195 vote was almost strictly along party lines, with Republicans arguing that it will help workers and Democrats warning that the measure could lead to abuse by employers. President Clinton--who has made a similar proposal aimed at giving workers more protection from coercion by employers--has signaled that he would veto the legislation if it is approved by the Senate.

With elections looming this fall, Republicans and Democrats alike claimed to represent the interests of an American work force that they said is working harder and juggling more to balance the demands of job and family.

The legislation approved Tuesday was introduced just a month ago by a group of Republican congresswomen, who called it part of the GOP’s “pro-women, pro-family, pro-work” agenda. Lobbyists for small businesses have been pushing hard for approval.

The bill would allow an employee to accumulate as many as 30 days of compensatory time, at a rate of 1 1/2 hours for every hour worked beyond 40 hours a week. The compensatory hours then could be taken as time off by an employee during periods when the employer agrees that the absence would not “unduly disrupt the operations” of the company.

Employers would be barred from forcing a worker to accept the time instead of money, or to use it when the employee does not want it. Employers who violate those provisions could be forced to pay workers twice the amount they are owed, plus court costs.

The Clinton alternative also would allow workers to take compensatory time off but contains several provisions designed to provide workers with greater protection from coercion by employers.

Under his plan, employees could take as many as 80 hours a year of “flex time,” in lieu of overtime, also accumulated at a rate of 1 1/2 hours off for every hour worked beyond 40 in a week. Employees would initiate requests to take the time off and employers would have little option to refuse, provided the request was made at least two weeks in advance.

Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole has called Clinton’s initiative “another idea he borrowed from the Republicans.”

Republicans said three of four middle-class Americans want the flexibility provided in the measure passed Tuesday and charged in debate that Democratic opposition is inspired by the lobbying of organized labor.

“Comp time allows parents to actively participate in family life,” said Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), who chairs the House Small Business Committee and is one of the bill’s chief sponsors. “Dads could use the accrued time to make sure they’re behind the dugout for that critical Little League game. Mom and dad could use the time to visit their child’s school for parent-teacher conferences.”

Democrats argued that the bill does not do enough to protect workers from pressure by employers to choose time off over larger paychecks.

They also warned that the measure would weaken the concept of the 40-hour work week, allowing employers to push workers to put in long hours in times of high demand and to stay home at other times.

Several lawmakers charged that, even under provisions strengthening workers’ protections against coercion, employers could use subtle means to pressure employees to take time off rather than collecting overtime pay. Rather than apply direct pressure, employers would simply favor workers who volunteer to take time off when there is overtime work to be done, the Democrats said.

Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) said that most workers “can’t negotiate with their employer like Michael Jordan. Who are we kidding?”

The AFL-CIO and other large labor unions have opposed any legislation that would alter the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which has been the cornerstone of the 40-hour workweek.