The ‘Flexibility’ Hoax Will Cost More Than Pay

This Friday, 8 million workers in California may find themselves without protection from unscrupulous employers, aided by Gov. Wilson’s sleight of hand tactics. Unable to convince the Legislature to eliminate a turn-of-the-century employee protection brought about by enormous abuses by employers, Wilson has played a card from the very bottom of the deck. Bypassing our elected officials, and thereby circumventing the will of the people, his five appointees to the Industrial Welfare Commission are expected at their meeting Friday to remove the daily overtime provisions from the California Labor Codes.

The great “pro-family” hoax began two years ago when Wilson, rebuked by the Legislature, discovered what he believed to be a back door way to eliminate the eight-hour workday. The IWC maintains control over certain provisions of the labor code and thus may change it without outside approval.

There was one tiny flaw in this plan: The commission is charged with advocating on behalf of the employee. Not to be stopped, Wilson and his big business pals used a little creative thinking. Quickly developing the “employees’ need for flexibility” twist and relying on the public’s ignorance regarding “flex hours,” which already permit employees to initiate alternative work weeks such as four 10-hour days by two-thirds vote, Wilson and his IWC quietly moved to alter the labor codes.

Claiming to speak for their employees and, in true altruistic spirit, seeking no profit for themselves, employers have spent more money than most of us will ever make in our lifetimes (with or without overtime) to ensure that you and I can arrange our work schedules to accommodate personal needs.

Employers expect us to believe that they are spending a tremendous amount of resources on lawyers and lobbyists in an effort to give us time off to take our children to ballgames. Is there anyone who really believes that she will be able to call her employer and tell him that she won’t be working that day but will make up the time next week? Instead of firing her on the spot or docking her pay, the benevolent employer will reschedule meetings, change deadlines, find a replacement for the day and say, “Hey, have a Dodger dog on me!”

Back on Earth, let’s look at some of the real possibilities. With the removal of the daily overtime disincentive, your employer will be able to institute four 10-hour days without your input. Or three 13-hour days, for that matter. But you will have four days off, since two shifts will now be cheaper than one. By the way, three 13-hour days is equivalent to 39 hours. Do you still qualify for a full-timer’s health and pension benefits?

Perhaps your employer’s needs vary from week to week. So will your schedule. Day-care providers will love charging the extra $1 per minute for late pickup, which seems to be the standard after 6 p.m. It will, of course, be harder to pay since you will not be earning premium pay. But it may be premature to concern yourself with the added expense, since you will most likely be unable to find a day-care provider with extended hours anyway. As for single parents, they need not be concerned. They will most likely find themselves out of the work force as day care becomes unaffordable.

Older workers and those with disabilities may also find themselves discriminated against since they may find longer work hours injurious to their well-being.

Californians are being told that there will be no loss of income for the worker. After all, federal labor standards provide for overtime pay after 40 hours in a week. That’s this week. There is a move on in Washington to change the standard to 160 hours in a four-week period.

Neither current federal requirements nor those being proposed will be of any consolation to employees in industries such as entertainment and construction, who frequently work well in excess of 40 hours in a week, but perform that work for three or four employers, thus being exempt from weekly overtime pay. Nor will there be consolation for part-time employees who could be worked 20 hours in a day if their employers so chose.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But that is why we enacted overtime laws in the first place.