[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 77 (Thursday, May 4, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                WORKING FAMILIES FLEXIBILITY ACT OF 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. JOYCE BEATTY

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 2, 2017

  Ms. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition of the Working Families 
Flexibility Act, H.R. 1180.
  Mr. Speaker, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) already allows 
employers to let their employees earn paid time off.
  That is why the bill passed by the House earlier this week, the 
Working Families Flexibility Act, H.R. 1180, would hurt working 
families by giving workers less time off, less flexibility and less 
pay.
  Many workers frequently rely on their overtime earnings to make ends 
meet to help put food on the table, keep a roof over their families' 
heads, and pay bills.
  Instead of paying workers for their overtime work, H.R. 1180 would 
permit employers to replace employees' overtime pay with vague promises 
that employees may be able to take comp time off at some unknown point 
in the future.
  But the employer, not the employee, would decide when that time off 
is granted.
  This bill provides no guarantees that workers could take their earned 
time off when they need it.
  Employers could also unilaterally decide to ``cash out'' comp time in 
excess of 80 hours or discontinue their entire comp time program with 
just 30 days' notice.
  This means that an employee's carefully crafted plan to bank time for 
a child's birth or a spouse's surgery could be thwarted by an 
employer's decision to cash out the employee's time or end the program 
all together.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is a bad deal for working families. It would 
strip employees of rights that the FLSA has provided for nearly 75 
years.
  If Republicans truly care about working families, they would support 
and help pass the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act), 
H.R. 947, which would create a national paid leave insurance program 
modeled after the successful programs in California, New Jersey, and 
Rhode Island.
  If Republicans truly care about working families, they would support 
and help pass legislation like Schedules That Work Act introduced by 
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro in the 114th Congress.
  The Schedules That Work Act would give workers more control over 
their schedules and incentivize predictability and stability in shifts 
and work hours.
  If Republicans truly care about working families, they would support 
and help pass the soon to be introduced Raise the Wage Act sponsored by 
Congressman Bobby Scott.
  The Raise the Wage Act increases minimum wage, including the 
elimination of sub-minimum ``tipped'' wage, which would lift 37.7 
millions workers out of poverty.
  People should not have to work more than 40 hours in a week and forgo 
pay to earn time to care for themselves or their loved ones.
  I join my Democratic colleagues in fighting to protect attacks on pay 
and benefits for working class families instead, and will vote no on 
H.R. 1180.

                          ____________________