House backs bill allowing workers take time off instead of overtime

Companies would have to approve measure to allow choice

WASHINGTON — The House has backed legislation that would allow private sector companies to give employees compensation time off rather than overtime pay.

The vote was 229-197 on Tuesday as six Republicans joined 191 Democrats in opposing the measure.

Republicans cast the measure as offering greater flexibility for employers and workers. Democrats complained that the bill undermines the Fair Labor Standards Act. No Democrat voted for the measure.

According to the Washington Post, Under the proposed changes, eligible employees — if their employer decides to offer the option — would be able to voluntarily choose to receive comp time they can bank and use at a future date in lieu of immediate overtime pay in their paychecks. If they change their minds and want the pay after all, employees would have the option of “cashing out,” with the employer required to pay the overtime within 30 days.

“I don’t think there’s anything more powerful than giving them more control over their time so that they can make the best decisions for themselves and their families,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington said Tuesday morning in a press conference held by Republican leaders in the House.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren was none too happy with the bill. The Democrat from Massachusetts has made workers’ protections her main cause and sits on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

With working families across the country scraping to make ends meet, Congress should strengthen protections for workers – not gut them.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 2, 2017

Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas says the work force has changed dramatically, and that employees in both the public and private sector should have the same chance to balance work and personal life.

Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland says the bill “effectively devalues what workers can earn for the extra hours they work.”

The legislation faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. The White House said in a news release that the president’s advisers would recommend President Donald Trump sign the bill into law if it was presented to him in its current form.