[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 41 (Wednesday, April 5, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E498-E499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE WORKER ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT: PROTECTING THE 
                         DOT-COM AMERICAN DREAM

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 5, 2000

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, today I am honored to introduce the 
Worker Economic

[[Page E499]]

Opportunity Act, the House companion identical to S. 2323 introduced in 
the other body by Senators Mitch McConnell and Christopher Dodd.
  This legislation, supported in the House and Senate, by Republicans 
and Democrats, with the involvement of the private sector and the Labor 
Department is being introduced for one reason: to protect the dot-com 
American Dream.
  It will secure the opportunity for 65 million Americans, union and 
non-union, who are hourly and non-exempt employees to be awarded stock 
options and other equity arrangements, without fear that a ``piece of 
the rock'' will hurt their overtime pay or expose employers to bizarre 
and unintentional liability.
  Recently, the Labor Department ruled that one part of one old, very 
important law--the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938--effectively and 
quite unintentionally endangered the New Economy practice of awarding 
stock options to line employees.
  The writers of that law never imagined that anyone but the most 
senior executives could be awarded stock options. Under the FLSA, 
profits from stock options would have to be taken into account when 
computing overtime, an impossible task that endangered both stock 
options and overtime pay for hourly workers.
  But today, workers demand them. And employers are offering them.
  The Sunday San Diego Union-Tribune, the Washington Times and 
Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and most every major 
metropolitan daily newspaper employment section is packed with job 
after job that offers stock options, stock options, stock options. 
That's good for workers, and good for America, and part of the dot-com 
American Dream.
  This bill is straightforward. It exempts these stock options and 
equity-sharing benefits of the New Economy from affecting people's 
rightful overtime pay yesterday, today and tomorrow.
  It's supported by Republicans and Democrats, the House and Senate, 
and the Administration, and the private-sector Coalition to Promote 
Employee Stock Ownership representing over 100 associations and 
employers.


                           PUBLIC RECOGNITION

  I want to recognize and thank several Members and other individuals 
whose work on this has been so important.
  On the Republican side, these members include Representatives Steve 
Kuykendall, Tom Davis and Doug Ose, and Workforce Protections 
Subcommittee Chairman Cass Ballenger, the gentleman from North 
Carolina, whose panel has jurisdiction over this issue.
  On the Democratic side, these members include Representatives Jim 
Moran, Cal Dooley, Anna Eshoo, Tim Roemer, and many others.
  The Senate has been a strong partner, side by side working together 
with us in the interests of American workers. I want to commend the 
Labor Department, including Secretary Alexis Herman, and Mr. Earl Gohl 
in the office of the Secretary, for their conscientious hard work. 
Lastly, I want to express my appreciation to the over 100 trade 
associations and employers who participated in the private-sector 
Coalition to Promote Employee Stock Ownership, led by the able 
personnel of the American Electronics Association.
  I look forward to my friend Chairman Ballenger taking up this 
important legislation in committee. Given that it has strong 
bipartisan, bicameral, Administration and private sector support, that 
it will be moved promptly, sent to the President, and signed into law. 
Together, we will score a win for employees and employers, for high-
tech and low-tech, and for the American Dream.


                         ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  Mr. Speaker, a great deal of information about this issue is 
available on the Internet. For the benefit of my colleagues, I wish to 
include in the Record several web links that provide helpful background 
information. These include:
  The LPA (formerly Labor Policy Association) has several backgrounder 
papers, congressional testimony, and news releases available at http://
www.lpa.org.
 The Employment Policy Foundation likewise has a background paper on 
this issue at http://www.epf.org.
 The Association of Private Pension and Welfare Plans (APPWP) has 
background information on stock options at http://www.appwp.org/
stockoptions.html, and on stock ownership by nonexempt employees at 
http://www.appwp.org/stock__ownership__non-exempt.html.
  The House Education and Workforce Committee, Subcommittee on 
Workforce Protections has posted the prepared testimony from its public 
hearing on this issue at http://www.house.gov/ed__workforce/hearings/
106th/wp/flsastockop3200/wl322000.htm.
  I encourage Members who wish to cosponsor this bill to contact me as 
soon as possible.

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