WASHINGTON – When the Senate moves to the Fair Pay Act, Senator Mike Lee plans to propose an amendment that would give private-sector employers the ability to offer their employees the option of compensation time or overtime pay. 

Votes on the Fair Pay Act are expected this week, but it is still unclear whether or not Majority Leader Harry Reid will allow any Republican amendments to be considered if the Senate does move to the bill. For more than a year, Senator Reid has abused the amendment process to prevent GOP priorities from receiving even a vote. 

“For many families, especially with young children, their most precious commodity is time,” said Senator Lee.  “But today, federal labor laws restrict the way moms and dads and everyone else can use their time.  For decades, Congress has given a special exemption from these laws to government employees. This is unacceptable. The same work-life options available to government employees should be available to private-sector workers, as well.”

The amendment, modeled on Lee’s “Working Families Flexibility Act,” would help workers handle the constant challenge of work-life balance by allowing private-sector employers to offer all individuals who work overtime to choose between monetary compensation or comp-time through a written agreement.  The reform would maintain all existing employee protections, including the current 40-hour workweek and overtime accrual, and provide additional safeguards to ensure that the choice to use comp time is voluntary.

“We can’t legislate another hour in the day, but we can help working people better balance the demands of family and work by removing an unnecessary federal restriction on utilizing comp time in the private sector,” Lee added.

For more information on the “Working Families Flexibility Act” click here:

http://www.lee.senate.gov/index.cfm/working-family-flexibility