[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 92 (Thursday, June 20, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1127-E1128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY WORKERS PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 19, 1996

  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, we live in a disposable society. We have 
disposable diapers, cups, plates, utensils, gloves, needles, razors, 
bags, heat packs, and flashlights. We even have disposable cameras and 
contact lenses. But we have gone too far. We have entered the age of 
the disposable worker.
  I am talking about the contingent work force, which is made up of 
part-time workers, temporary employees, independent contractors, day 
laborers, and others. Let me make it clear. I am not talking about 
teenagers flipping burgers. Contingent workers can be heads of a 
households. They can be old or young. But, not surprisingly, they are 
disproportionately women and minorities.
  Employers increasingly view contingent workers as disposable. 
Contingent workers often provide short-term profits to employers who 
don't want to pay health insurance, pension benefits, unemployment 
insurance, and vacation and sick leave. This is not to say that there 
should be no part-time or temporary jobs. They provide flexibility for 
both employees and employers. Moreover, there are consciences employers 
and temporary agencies that set the standard when it comes to pay and 
benefits for part-time and temporary workers. But the rise in the 
number of involuntary contingent workers and the recent corporate 
purging that has taken place paint a gloomy portrait of contingent work 
in America.
  Temporary employment alone grew 10 times faster than overall 
employment between 1982 and 1990. In 1982 contingent workers 
constituted a quarter of the labor force. And that number continues to 
rise.
  Not surprisingly, women and minorities are overrepresented in the 
part-time and temporary work force. For example, the percentage of 
African-Americans in the temporary work force is double that of the 
whole work force. Moreover, two out of three temporary workers are 
women. Women and minority groups, therefore, suffer a disproportionate 
share of the drawbacks of involuntary part-time and temporary 
employment--lower per-hour wages than full-time workers; reduced or no 
employment-based health, retirement, and other benefits; and the 
constant threat of being released with little or no warning.
  Employees who worked for Honeywell Information Systems found out the 
hard way. After working for Honeywell as a computer programmer for 8 
years, Jimmie Ruth and the majority of her department were laid off. 
She was hired back as a consultant, but the change in status resulted 
in a loss of benefits and forced her to pay Social Security taxes. She 
found herself working along side her former coworkers, who had also 
been hired back without their benefits.
  Corporations that replace full-time workers with temporary workers do 
it to save money. But it can often cost taxpayers money. We all pay 
higher health costs when uninsured workers receive expensive emergency 
care rather than preventative medicine. We all pay when employees 
without retirement plans must depend on public assistance. We all pay 
when families are unable to reinvest money back into the economy.
  There is little proof that replacing core workers with contingent 
labor benefits companies. According to management research consultant 
Helen Axel, companies do not always save money by providing contingent 
employees with lower wages and fewer benefits. The productivity of 
companies is often negatively impacted by the high turnover rates of 
contingent employees. The costs and time required for training new 
waves of temporary employees are not compensated for by trimming wages 
and benefits.
  Cutting jobs has become profitable in another way--fattening the 
pockets of CEO's. When Robert Allen, CEO of AT&T, announced 40,000 
layoffs in January, he made more than $5 million as AT&T stock soared. 
This is in

[[Page E1128]]

addition to his $3 million salary. So Allen earned millions for firing 
thousands.
  The Part-Time and Temporary Worker Protection Act address this 
problem. Simply put, if an employer provides health care and pension 
benefits to full-time workers, then they must provide partial coverage 
to contingent workers.
  Under the bill, all employees working 500 hours or more per year 
receive a prorated share of health benefits under the employee 
sponsored group health plan based on the amount they worked. In other 
words, an employee who works 20 hours per week is eligible for half of 
the benefits of a full-time employee.
  In addition, employees working 500 hours or more per year are 
eligible to participate in an employer-provided pension plan at the 
same prorated rate.
  The bill also allows voluntary part-time workers to receive 
unemployment compensation while looking for part-time work. Currently, 
in order to receive unemployment insurance, a part-time worker must 
look for, and accept if offered, full-time work.
  Another concern is the misclassification of employees as independent 
contractors. The Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Act limits 
the IRS's ability to waive employer tax liability for misclassifying 
employees as independent contractors and prevents Federal and defense 
contractors from willfully misclassifying employees as independent 
contractors.
  Finally, the bill requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to conduct 
an annual survey to determine the level of health and pension benefits 
for temporary employees, the number of jobs an individual holds, and 
the number of hours an individual works on each job.
  I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting the Part-Time and 
Temporary Workers Protection Act of 1996.

                          ____________________