[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 157 (Tuesday, November 9, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S14408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROBB (for himself, Mr. Sarbanes, and Ms. Mikulski):
  S. 1885. A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for 
more equitable policies relating to overtime pay for Federal employees, 
limitations on premium pay, and the accumulation and use of credit 
hours; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.


      EQUITABLE OVERTIME PAY FOR FEDERAL SUPERVISORS AND MANAGERS

  Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, I am very pleased to be joined by my 
colleagues, Senators Sarbanes and Mikulski, to introduce legislation to 
pay overtime to federal managers and supervisors more equitably.
  I'm proud of our federal workers. Despite seemingly constant 
assaults, our nations's civil servants have persevered to provide 
government that is working better and more efficiently than ever. We've 
seen a streamlined federal government that's continually asked to 
improve services to its customers--the American people. But with 
smaller staffs and the push to increase the federal government's 
productivity, workloads continue to grow. As federal employees' duties 
grow, the need to work more overtime hours increases as well. Managers, 
supervisors and other FLSA-exempt employees within the federal 
government can receive overtime, but the current overtime cap presents 
two problems to these employees: they earn less working on overtime 
than they do for the work they perform during the week and they earn 
less while working overtime than the employees they supervise. Who 
then, can blame prospective candidates for supervisory or management 
positions for declining promotions when remaining in their current, 
non-supervisory position can mean more money for their families? If the 
federal government is to continue to recruit and retain a top-notch 
workforce, then the present overtime cap is one issue that we need to 
address.
  Our legislation will ensure that supervisors and managers neither 
make less working overtime than they would during regular work hours 
nor make less working overtime than those they supervise. This bill 
increases the overtime cap from GS-10 step 1 to GS-12 step 1, the first 
adjustment in the overtime cap since 1966. Our bill doesn't mandate 
that overtime be paid; overtime pay will be implemented as it is 
currently, based on personnel decisions made by individual agencies.
  We should encourage incentives to attract bright and capable workers 
to join the management ranks of the federal government, and this bill 
is one such incentive. I look forward to working with my colleagues to 
ensure its consideration and favorable recommendation as quickly as 
possible.
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