releases: http://roby.house.gov/roby-news/senate-gop-supports-robys-comp-time-bill
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://roby.house.gov/roby-news/senate-gop-supports-robys-comp-time-bill | Senate GOP supports Roby's comp-time bill | 2013-11-14 | 2013 | 2013-11 | Republican | House | AL | Martha Roby | R000591 | roby.house.gov | legacy | Senate Republicans are promoting a comp-time proposal by GOP Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama as a way to bring more flexibility to the workplace. Roby’s bill would let hourly employees in the private sector choose time off instead of overtime pay. Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah recently introduced similar versions of the legislation, which passed the House in May. It would make comp time a voluntary option for employees who have worked overtime, just like in the public sector. “While Congress can’t legislate another hour in the day, we can help working Americans better balance the demands of work and family,” said McConnell, the Senate’s minority leader. Lee said the idea is part of an overall GOP strategy to address issues important to the middle class. “For many families, especially with young children, their most precious commodity is time,” Lee said. Despite the interest from the Republican senators, the bill appears unlikely to become law. House Democrats strongly opposed Roby’s bill, and Democrats in charge of the Senate are raising the same objections. “Working families are desperate for more flexibility at work and more time with their families,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. “Unfortunately, I have concerns about this bill and whether it will deliver what it promises and in a way that protects workers from being pressured into making choices that will actually hurt their families.” Harkin is chairman of the Senate committee that will review the proposals from McConnell and Lee. Almost all House Democrats voted against Roby’s bill. They said it would prompt employers to pressure workers to take comp time instead of overtime pay in order to cut payroll costs. They also said it doesn’t guarantee that comp time could be taken when an employee needed it. Harkin said he prefers his proposed Healthy Families Act, which would provide a “more definite” benefit, such as allowing workers to earn up to seven paid sick days a year. He called the GOP comp-time bills “the wrong approach to the very critical problem of helping workers balance job responsibilities with family and caregiving.” The Fair Labor and Standards Act of 1938 states hourly employees in the private sector who work more than 40 hours a week must be paid for their extra time at one-and-a-half times their regular hourly wage. Comp time is an option only in the public sector. Roby’s bill would make it legal for a private-sector employer and an employee to agree in writing that the employee will take an hour-and-a-half of comp time for every hour of overtime worked. For those in a union, the option would be available only as allowed by the collective-bargaining agreement. And it would allow employees to file a complaint under federal labor law if an employer coerces workers into choosing comp time. Roby said her bill is gaining traction in the Senate. “To have so many influential conservatives behind this bill sends a powerful message about our commitment to empowering Americans with more freedom and more flexibility in the workplace,” she said. To read this article on the publication's website, click here. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |