[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE SALE INCENTIVE COMPENSATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HARRIS W. FAWELL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, November 8, 1997

  Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, Leronda Lucky is an industrious yellow page 
advertising salesperson for BellSouth in Ohio. She wants to be paid on 
commission and work as many hours as possible. ``My primary 
motivation,'' she says, ``to work long and hard hours is so that I can 
earn as much money as possible to support my family, save money for my 
children's education, and save for retirement.''
  Unfortunately, Leronda must work as an hourly employee and is limited 
to working 9 to 5 each day, 40 hours per week and being paid overtime 
for hours over 40. ``My base pay and the prospect of overtime earnings 
do not motivate me,'' says Leronda. ``My choice is to be paid on a 
commission basis. Also my clients do not necessarily have 9 to 5 work 
hours. I need the flexibility to determine when I need to meet with the 
customers on their hours.''
  Leronda Lucky's story is an example of how 1938-era workplace laws do 
not necessarily fit the workers or the workplace of the 1990's. Such 
antiquated laws end up hurting the very workers they were intended to 
help.
  The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act set the workweek at 40 hours and 
required that any additional hours worked be paid at one and a half 
times the base hourly wage. The law made workers hourly employees 
unless they met certain criteria to exempt them. Salesperson who work 
away from their employer's premise, in the law referred to as ``outside 
salesmen,'' were exempt, allowing them to work as many hours as they 
wished, when they wished, and for a commission if they so choose. This 
exemption was granted on an idea that professional salespeople work 
irregular hours in response to their customers' needs and they 
generally work on commission as opposed to an hourly wage.
  In 1938, these salespeople were outside, communicating with their 
customers by traveling from town to town and visiting customers in 
person. In 1997, with the advent of fax machines, computers, e-mail, 
the Internet, modems, and advanced telecommunications, the once outside 
sales force has moved inside. These inside salespeople can work at one 
location--at an office, or even at home. Communications, paying for 
goods, and other transactions can be done electronically. The once 
outside sales force is today a more efficient, effective and profitable 
inside sales force. Without the 1938 law, these inside salespeople 
could earn wages that greatly exceed the amounts that are otherwise 
available through hourly pay rates plus overtime.
  The House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections recently held 
hearings on this outdated law. Several inside salespeople, including 
Leronda Lucky, testified on the need to reform the 1938 Fair Labor 
Standards Act to make it fit the workplace of the 1990's. And so 
yesterday, along with my colleague on the subcommittee, Congressman 
Robert E. Andrews, I introduced H.R. 2888, the Sales Incentive 
Compensation Act, to make this area of the law adapt to today's work 
force.

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