[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 12 (Wednesday, February 4, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   OVERTIME REGULATIONS AND VETERANS

  (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include 
extraneous material.)
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as one of the chairmen of the 
two labor committees here in the House and as a veteran, I am here to 
denounce an effort by Big Labor to scare our Nation's veterans and 
service men and women into thinking the Department of Labor is out to 
take away their overtime. The Department of Labor is working on 
revisions to the regulations governing overtime pay. These regulations 
would provide 1.3 million more Americans with overtime and help 
millions of hard-working people in this country.
  Let me be absolutely clear, the Department of Labor's proposed 
overtime regulations do not apply to the military, and nothing in 
existing law or the proposed regulations suggest that being a veteran 
would have any effect on overtime pay. It is a sad day indeed when the 
men and women of our forces are exploited for political gain. Opponents 
of these regulations ought to be ashamed.


                                           Secretary of Labor,

                                     Washington, January 27, 2004.
     Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: I write to provide you with the facts to 
     correct the record following last week's Senate floor debate 
     on the Consolidated Appropriations Act with regard to the 
     Department of Labor's proposed revision of the Fair Labor 
     Standards Act's overtime exemption regulations. I also would 
     like to thank you for your support and leadership on this 
     important issue.
       The recent allegations that military personnel and veterans 
     will lose overtime pay, because of proposed clarifications of 
     the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ``white-collar'' 
     exemption regulations, are incorrect and harmful to the 
     morale of veterans and of American servicemen and women. I 
     want to assure you that military personnel and veterans are 
     not affected by these proposed rules by virtue of their 
     military duties or training.
       First, the Part 541 ``white collar exemptions'' do not 
     apply to the military. They cover only the civilian 
     workforce.
       Second, nothing in the current or proposed regulation makes 
     any mention of veteran status. Despite claims that military 
     training would make veterans ineligible for overtime pay, 
     members of Congress should be clear that the Department of 
     Labor's proposed rules will not strip any veteran of overtime 
     eligibility.
       This has been one of many criticisms intended to confuse 
     and frighten workers about our proposal to revise the badly 
     outdated regulations under the FLSA ``white collar'' 
     exemption regulations. It is disheartening that the debate 
     over modernizing these regulations to meet the needs of the 
     21st Century workforce has largely ignored the broad 
     consensus that this rule needs substantial revision to 
     strengthen overtime protections.
       The growing ambiguities caused by time and workplace 
     advancements have made both employers' compliance with this 
     rule and employees' understanding of their rights 
     increasingly difficult. More and more, employees must resort 
     to class action lawsuits to recover their overtime pay. These 
     workers must wait several years to have their cases 
     adjudicated in order to get the overtime they have already 
     earned. In fact, litigation over these rules drains nearly $2 
     billion a year from the economy, costing jobs and better pay.
       I hope that this latest concern will be put to rest 
     immediately. Once again, I assure you that military duties 
     and training or veteran status have no bearing on overtime 
     eligibility. We hope that future debate on this important 
     provision is more constructive. If we can provide further 
     assistance in setting the record straight, we would be 
     pleased to do so. The Office of Management and Budget has 
     advised that there is no objection from the standpoint of the 
     Administration's program to the presentation of this report.
           Sincerely,
     Elaine L. Chao.

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