FOXX: Working Families Flexibility Act Empowers Americans, Respects Work/Life Balance

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) today issued the following statement upon the passage of the Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1406), which Foxx cosponsored, from the House of Representatives:  

“The Working Families Flexibility Act will ensure every working parent and grandparent is able to benefit from the flexibility of choices in how they receive overtime compensation. Today private sector employees are only offered cash wages as overtime payment, while government employees get to choose between cash and comp time. This legislation ends the double standard.

“It's hard to raise a family and earn a living at the same time. Every hour you spend working to provide for your family is an hour you can't spend with your family. And when life happens – in the form of school plays, little league games, or family members becoming sick – time and flexibility are exactly what working parents and grandparents need. And because of this legislation, they’ll be able to choose both.

“There is no good reason why a 1930s era federal law prohibits private sector workers from exercising the same choices available already to government workers. For the sake of every worker and family, I am pleased to see this legislation restore common sense and hope the Senate acts quickly toward its passage.”  

The Working Families Flexibility Act will allow non-salaried private sector employees to have the same overtime compensation options that have been available to government employees for the better part of thirty years.

Foxx twice addressed the House of Representatives in support of the Working Families Flexibility Act and  introduced the rule (H.Res. 198) whereby the Working Families Flexibility Act was brought to the House floor for consideration. Footage of Foxx’s floor statements are below:

Working Families Flexibility Act Protects #YourTime

Working Families Flexibility Act Protects Work-Life Balance

Just the Basics: The Working Families Flexibility Act
Courtesy of the House Committee on Education & the Workforce

THE PROBLEM:

For many Americans, balancing the demands of family and the workplace can be difficult. State and local government employees have long been able to choose paid time off as compensation for working overtime hours, allowing these public-sector employees greater flexibility to meet family obligations. However, the federal government prohibits private-sector workers from enjoying this same benefit. An outdated federal law has become an impediment to employers who want to help employees manage work and family responsibilities.

THE SOLUTION:

To remove this obstacle in federal law, Representative Martha Roby (R-AL) introduced the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013. The legislation would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to allow employers to offer private-sector employees the choice of paid time off in lieu of cash wages for overtime hours worked.  It is pro-family, pro-worker legislation that gives workers the flexibility to spend time with family, attend teacher conferences, care for aging parents, stay home with a newborn, or attend to other family needs that may arise. 

H.R. 1406 - THE WORKING FAMILIES FLEXIBILITY ACT OF 2013:

• Allows employers to offer employees a choice between cash wages and comp time for overtime hours worked. Employees who want to receive cash wages would continue to do so. No employee can be forced to take comp time instead of receiving overtime pay.  

• Protects employees by requiring the employer and the employee to complete a written agreement to use comp time, entered into knowingly and voluntarily by the employee. Where the employee is represented by a union, the agreement to take comp time must be part of the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the union and the employer.

• Retains all existing employee protections in current law, including the 40 hour work week and how overtime compensation is accrued. The bill adds additional safeguards for workers to ensure the choice and use of comp time are truly voluntary.  

• Allows employees to accrue up to 160 hours of comp time each year.  An employer would be required to pay cash wages for any unused time at the end of the year. Workers are free to ‘cash out’ their accrued comp time whenever they choose to do so.

The Working Families Flexibility Act is commonsense legislation that will help American workers better balance the needs of family and the workplace.

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