[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 28 (Thursday, March 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S2029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     FAMILY FRIENDLY WORKPLACE ACT

 Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, as a co-sponsor of S. 4, the Family 
Friendly Workplace Act of 1997, I rise to express my strong support for 
this legislation.
  Mr. President, Americans have always struggled to balance the 
conflicting demands of work and family, but today, more than ever, 
families, especially double earners, are finding the old, rigid 
workplace structure of a different era to be the main barrier to a 
family friendly schedule. This is ironic because today's technology 
makes telecommuting from home common through the Internet and 
interactive video, allowing the flexibility many workers need to spend 
more time with their families.
  The problem is that in the eyes of our Federal laws the workplace has 
not changed since the 1930's. Federal wage-and-hour laws were developed 
during the New Deal era, when about one mother in six with school-aged 
children worked. But the workplace is vastly different today. Over 70 
percent of mothers with kids in school work, and the rigid 8-hour-per-
day, 40-hour-per-week work schedule is less rational or justifiable. 
Simply put, the wage-and-hour laws belong in a different era--one that 
ended about 50 years ago.
  Federal Government workers have had a flexible work schedule option 
for three decades. Under a flextime arrangement, many Federal employees 
work 10-hour days, 4 days per week. For a mother with a young child, 
this means 1 less day per week she'll have to pay for daycare. You can 
bet that adds up.
  Flextime has been a tremendous benefit for Federal workers, 
especially women. Why shouldn't non-Federal workers have this benefit 
as well? The answer is that they should, and that's what S. 4 will do. 
Under this bill, an employee will have three options: First, flexible 
scheduling--to work additional hours 1 week for credit, up to 50 hours, 
toward a shorter work day or work week later at full pay; second, bi-
weekly scheduling--to schedule 80 hours over a 2-week period in any 
combination; or third, compensatory time off--to choose time-and-a-half 
compensatory time off, up to 240 hours--160 hours at time-and-a-half, 
for overtime hours worked in lieu of time-and-a-half pay. No employee 
may be required to participate in these programs, and coercion or 
intimidation by the employer with respect to participation is 
prohibited.
  This is commonsense legislation endorsed by Working Women and Working 
Mother magazines. It's time to tear down the barriers to a family 
friendly workplace and give hardworking Americans the flexibility to 
spend time with their families.

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