Fast Food Protests

Demonstrator Sherae Speight, of Boston, center, holds a placard and chants during a protest at a McDonalds fast foot restaurant, Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Boston, held to call attention to the denial of overtime pay and other violations protesters say deprive workers of the money they're owed.

(Steven Senne, Associated Press)

WASHINGTON - Most Republicans say a bill the House of Representatives passed on Tuesday would give private sector workers flexibility by letting them take compensatory time instead of overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week.

But Democrats say the bill altering the Fair Labor Standards Act would make it harder for workers to earn needed overtime pay, and let employers shortchange workers by indefinitely postponing when they could use their comp time.

The bill dubbed the "Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017" passed by a 229 to 197 margin, without a single vote from Democrats. Just six Republicans voted against it, including Rep. Dave Joyce of Bainbridge Township. Joyce's press spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the vote.

#HR1180 means "freedom for workers to choose what’s best for themselves & their families." - @VirginiaFoxx https://t.co/SkoBzTofdD — House Ed & Labor Republicans (@EdLaborGOP) May 2, 2017

Advocates said the measure would require employers to give workers their choice between overtime and comp time. It would let employees bank up to 160 hours of comp time each year, and allow them to cash out their comp time for any reason.

They argued it would give workers more time to spend with their children, run errands, take care of aging parents. The decision to take comp time would be up to workers, and companies that try to force workers into particular comp time arrangements would face penalties.

"This bill will allow small businesses to give hourly employees another option that public sector employees have enjoyed for many years," said House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot of Cincinnati.

Democrats predicted some employees who'd prefer time-and-a-half pay for overtime would feel obligated to take comp time instead, and enforcing the bill's anti-coercion provisions would require resources most workers don't have. Labor groups including Service Employees International Union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the United Steel Workers oppose the bill.

"It will hurt employees," said Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer, saying they could "work more and get less."

The so-called “Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017” is part of the @HouseGOP’s ongoing attack on #WorkingFamilies. pic.twitter.com/8HWNXK3u5y — Committee on Education & Labor (@EdLaborCmte) April 5, 2017

The bill's U.S. Senate counterpart has been referred to its Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which has not acted on it.

President Donald Trump's administration backs the bill, and his advisers would recommend that he sign it, a White House press statement said.

The White House statement said the bill would "help American workers balance the competing demands of family and work by giving them flexibility to earn paid time off--time they can later use for any reason, including family commitments like attending school appointments and caring for a sick child" and contains "critical protections" to prohibit employer coercion.

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