Republican leader will propose Federal Law that Ends Overtime Pay for hourly workers

But then the workers would have to pay taxes on this money they didn't get.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/25/1189635/-Eric-Cantor-will-propose-Federal-Law-that-Ends-Overtime-Pay-for-hourly-workers#

Eric Cantor will propose Federal Law that Ends Overtime Pay for hourly workers

Mon Feb 25, 2013

In Eric Cantor's February 2013 speech, he said he wanted to propose Federal Law that would end overtime pay for hourly workers. Currently, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, mandates that certain workers get paid "time + 1/2" for overtime work. Eric Cantor wants to eliminate that law. Because -- ya know -- workers not getting paid for overtime hours worked out so good for workers before FDR enacted that Law.

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met privately with House Republicans to discuss one of the policies he had emphasized: a policy that would allow workers to convert overtime compensation into time off. “I gave a talk today about helping people and about finally focussing on legislation that has understandable benefits right away,” Cantor said. He explained that it would help parents who wanted to go on a field trip or attend a teacher conference. “What I want to see is how we can communicate this, communicate the benefit. How are we going to build a coalition and get it done?”

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Eric Cantor wants to pass a Federal Law to eliminate overtime pay but not overtime labor. Meaning, naturally, that the law Eric Cantor wants to propose will mean that millions of hourly workers in America would a) not be able to afford their family vacation, and b) might have to work overtime during a scheduled family vacation all without extra pay.

Since Eric Cantor has not given anyone in the media a copy of his proposed Bill, all we can do is look back at the 2003 Republican Bill that would end the Federal Law requiring workers get actual money in exchange for extra hours worked.

One of the many problems with the 2003 Bill was that the Bill did not actually "require" employers to give their hourly workers the "family flex time" when the worker wanted to use it:

Requires the employer to permit use of comp-time accrued under such an option program within a reasonable time after the employee's request if such use does not unduly disrupt the employer's operations.

Also, Under H.R. 1119, employees who work overtime hours in a given week might not receive any pay or time off for that work until more than a year later, at the employer’s discretion.

Therefore, without receiving any interest or security, the employees, in essence, give their overtime pay to the employer in the hopes of getting it back some time later as paid time off.

Hourly worker's overtime pay was put at risk of loss in the event of business failure and closure, bankruptcy, or fraud. In short, H.R.1119 was nothing more than a scheme to allow employers to avoid paying for overtime, a scheme that would result in longer hours, lower incomes, and less predictable workweeks for hourly workers.