Action needed by June 6th: Overtime Pay is in jeopardy in the US

karbyr · Jun 10, 2003

This was defeated...............actually just kinda dropped by the Republican sponsors,..................right

-jt · Jun 12, 2003

US House GOP Drops 'Flex-Time' Bill!!

House Republican leaders late Wednesday scrapped plans to bring their Family Time Flexibility Act (H.R. 1119) to the floor after GOP whip counts showed they lacked enough Democratic votes to pass the bill.

"We're short. We're down Republicans, and the Democratic number is going south," one GOP aide said.

This legislation allows employers to offer compensatory time off to workers in place of normal time-and-a-half overtime pay. H.R. 1119 and S.317 would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to change the job description and duties, income limits and other qualifications for overtime pay protections. These proposed changes would threaten workers with unpredictable work schedules and no monetary compensation for any extra hours worked. NYSNA opposes this legislation and thanks the RNs who contacted their Congressional representatives to voice their opposition. Your voice made the difference.

To pass the bill, GOP leaders calculated they would need Democratic votes to offset Republican member opposition. As many as 15 Democrats were considered potential yes votes, but whip counts showed that number had dwindled to as few as five.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that figure was in the "ballpark" and said he was confident his whipping team had persuaded potential Democratic supporters to oppose it.

"We worked them hard. We told them what we thought the consequences of this bill are," Hoyer said.

http://www.NYSNA.org

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And all the calls & letters from their constituents who expressed their opposition probably helped change their minds too.