(Source: Huffington Post) Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor
Republican House Majority leader Eric Cantor is spearheading a bill that has the potential to deny low-wage workers of their overtime pay. It’s being pushed by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), a lobbying firm that represents large U.S. retailers – among them Walmart and Target.
The name of the bill — The Working Families Flexibility Act – poorly masks its true effects on working families.
If this bill were to be passed, employers could offer employees who work overtime the opportunity to earn future time off rather than overtime pay (which is typically one and a half times the normal hourly wage). As Vicki Shabo, a director at the National Partnership for Women & Families points out, this bill creates an unfair situation for workers.
“Employers would essentially be getting an interest free loan from their employees. They are taking the work today and are paying by giving time off or cashing out wages at a later time, up to 13 months later.”
The bill also ignores the realities of today’s workplace. Making the decision to accrue time off or accept overtime pay may not always be solely up the individual worker. Workers are often pressured by their employers to obey instructions, without argument, or face the risk of being fired. It’s easy to consider a scenario where a worker may feel forced into accepting time off instead of increased pay for working overtime.
Even if workers were able to fairly choose between time off or increased pay, there would be no realistic guarantee that time off an employee earns could be used when they need it.
Eric Cantor’s proposal is just another attempt by House Republicans to push down wages and weaken workers so that big retailers have more power over their workforce and are able to share less profits with them as well.
Although the bill is expected to pass in the House of Representatives, it is not being seriously considered by the Senate due it’s vagueness and inability to ensure that employees would actually be free to choose between time off and additional pay.
Workers have a right to enjoy the wealth that their labor helped create. This type of legislation underscores the importance of workers sticking together and speaking up for their rights.
For full details of The Working Families Flexibility Act, click here.
