A Bill Allowing Employers to Grant Compensatory Time for Overtime Instead of Time and a Half Pay Passes House of Representatives.
On May 2, 2017, the United States House of Representatives passed 115 H.R. 1180, known as the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017. This bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, allowing employers to grant compensatory time to employees working overtime, in lieu of time and a half pay as currently required by the FLSA. Under the bill, employees must be granted one and a half hours of compensatory time for every hour of overtime worked. This would only be allowed if the employer and employee agree in writing on a compensatory time arrangement before the performance of the work, or if such an agreement has been collectively bargained. The bill contains limits on employee eligibility and the amount of compensatory time that may be accrued.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 229-197, with almost all Republicans voting in favor of the bill and all Democrats against it. The bill has now been forwarded to the Senate. A substantially similar bill passed the House in 2013 but not the Senate. The White House has said the bill has the support of President Trump.
