[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
[March 22, 1997]
[Pages 346-347]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
March 22, 1997

    Good morning. I'm glad to be back at the microphone this morning 
after relying on the Vice President to fill in for me last Saturday. My 
knee is healing just fine, and I'm happy to report that I've just 
completed a successful summit meeting with President Boris Yeltsin of 
Russia in Helsinki, Finland. Together we're building a strong United 
States-Russia relationship to meet the challenges of the 21st century: 
building a democratic, undivided Europe at peace; leading the world away 
from the nuclear threat; forging new ties of trade and investment that 
will benefit all our people.
    Today I want to talk with you about how we can work together to 
strengthen America's working families and to help them meet their 
responsibilities both at work and at home. We have made significant 
progress in this area with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. 
That was landmark legislation, and I was very proud that it was the 
first bill I signed as President. But I'm even more proud of the impact 
this law has had on the everyday lives of working families.
    Since its enactment, millions of Americans have been able to take 
unpaid leave to care for a newborn child or to be with a family member 
who's sick. I know that many Americans would have lost their jobs if it 
weren't for the family leave law.
    With new pressures on families in the way they work and live, we 
have to do even more to give people the chance to be good workers and 
good parents. That's why I proposed expanding the Family and Medical 
Leave Act so that workers can take time off to attend teacher 
conferences or to take a child for a medical checkup. I have challenged 
the Congress to pass legislation that will do just that this year, and I 
have high hopes that they will.
    This morning I want to talk about another way to strengthen our 
working families. I have a plan that offers employees this simple 
choice: If you work overtime, you can be paid time and a half, just as 
the law now requires, or if you want, you can take that payment in time, 
an hour and a half off for every hour of overtime you work. Simply put, 
you can choose money in the bank or time on the clock. Comp time can be 
used for a vacation, an extended maternity leave, or to spend more time 
with your children or your parents.
    We can give employees in American business more flexibility. That 
serves everyone's interests. But we must make sure that as we give 
greater flexibility, we do it in a way that's good for both business and 
employees.
    Unfortunately, a version of comp time legislation that is moving 
through Congress now would take the wrong approach. It could actually 
leave working families worse off than today. Strong comp-time 
legislation gives employees the choice of when to take their overtime 
pay in money or in time off from work. But under

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the congressional majority's proposal, employees aren't really 
guaranteed that choice. There are no effective safeguards to stop an 
employer from telling an employee who needs a paycheck more than family 
time that he or she has no choice: ``You work overtime this week, then 
I'll give you less time next week.''
    Strong comp-time legislation would give employees the choice of when 
they take time off. That's the best way to strengthen families and to 
give parents more flexibility. But the congressional majority's plan 
would make it simply too easy for employers to tell workers they cannot 
take the comp time they have earned.
    Under strong comp-time legislation, the time off you have earned is 
just that, time off. But under the congressional majority's plan, 
employees who take comp time could be forced to work extra hours at 
night or on the weekend to make up the time without any overtime pay. 
That means if you take off a Friday that you have earned by working 
overtime, your employer could simply make you work Saturday without 
paying overtime because you haven't worked your full 40-hour week.
    Above all, strong comp-time legislation preserves the protection of 
our 40-hour week, which has been the law now for most of this century. 
Today the law says if you are an hourly worker and you work longer than 
40 hours, you get paid time and a half for overtime. Our plan would give 
you the choice of taking an hour and a half off for every hour you work 
instead. But under the congressional majority's plan, some employees who 
work an extra hour would get only an hour off, less overtime than they 
would be eligible for today. That's money out of their pocket.
    The vast majority of our employers will be fair to their workers 
under any system. But as we modernize our laws to fit a changing 
workplace, we have to uphold historic safeguards for all our employees. 
Giving workers the real choice of taking time off as overtime pay is 
good for our families. It will help all Americans balance the demands of 
home and work. But it's employees and their families, not employers, who 
should choose if, when, and how they take and use comp time.
    Congress should pass expanded family leave and a strong comp-time 
bill. The moment a responsible comp-time bill hits my desk, I will 
gladly sign it. It will be good for workers, good for business, good for 
the economy, and strong in the building of our families. But let me also 
be clear: I will have to veto any legislation that fails to guarantee 
real choice for employees, real protection against employer abuse, and 
real preservation of fair labor standards including the 40-hour week.
    It's time for us to join together to give America's families the 
help they need to succeed on the job and in the home. Let's pass comp-
time legislation, but let's do it right.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 2:10 p.m. on March 21 at Mantyniemi, 
the residence of President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland in Helsinki, for 
broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 22.