A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

The Republicans taking even more money away

Posted: May 8, 2013

from workers.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/working-families-flexibility-act-passes_n_3231385.html

They won't be happy until they've killed off the lowest class of Americans and moved existing middle class people in to take their place.

;

That's not what this bill is - about.

[ In Reply To ..]
Maybe do some more research beyond the Huffington Post, you'd see that there is actually a lot of support from working people who would rather have some extra time off of work than the overtime pay.

Now that would be a novel idea. Research. Lord. - Losing battle.

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Excerpt from Fox - Research Lord

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't see how this would benefit any worker, especially MTs

"The plan would change the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which requires covered employees to receive time-and-a-half pay for every hour over 40 within a work week. The proposal would allow workers to bank up to 160 hours of comp time per year that could be used to take time off for any reason.

Current law only allows private sector workers to swap comp time for overtime pay within a single pay period. The time can't be saved up for use later in the year.

The Republican bill would let employees decide to cash out their stored comp time at any point and forbids employers from coercing workers to take comp time instead of cash.

But Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, No. 2 Democrat in the House, said it's not fair to compare the legislation to similar flexibility that is offered to public sector employees because there are "a lot more protections" for public sector employees.

Opponents say the reason public sector workers were given the option to take time off instead of overtime pay in 1985 was to save cash-strapped governments money. They say that's why business groups are lobbying in favor of the bill, not to protect workers.

Critics also say the bill lets employers decide whether to grant a specific request to use comp time, so workers have no guarantee of when they could use the time. Even if workers can collect their unused time as cash at the end of the year, opponents argue that essentially gives employers an interest-free loan from employees."

It says it prevents employers from coercing employees, but we know how crafty MTSOs are. They would have no trouble flying under the coercion radar. Neither would any other business owner.

That's precisely what it's about. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If I'm going to work overtime, I want to be PAID in actual DOLLARS to do it!

Here are the first few paragraphs from the link I provided above.

***
WASHINGTON -- As part of their efforts to rebrand the GOP as a more caring party, House Republicans passed a hotly debated bill Wednesday that would loosen federal overtime laws, allowing for "comp" time instead of pay for private-sector employees who work more than 40 hours in a week.

Although GOP legislators made a strong public-relations push for the bill as worker-friendly legislation, the measure is not expected to go anywhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and the White House said Monday that the president would be advised to veto such legislation on the grounds that it would weaken protections in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Republican leaders should have expected as much, considering the same measure has been rejected by Democrats at least twice in the past. If nothing else, the legislation has provided House Republicans with the opportunity to voice concern for working mothers struggling to strike a good work-life balance.

The measure passed by a vote of 223-204 along party lines.
***
It's all about money. I'm sure a single mother working at a minimum wage job just might prefer the money.

But leave it up to the Republican Party to try and separate everyone who's not a millionaire from the very, VERY rich.

That single mother would now have a - choice.

[ In Reply To ..]
Maybe she's saved up enough money to take her kids on vacation, but now needs some extra time off to do it - she can then make that choice to get the extra time off rather than the money. I can't say I'd always choose the time off, but I sure would like the choice to do so.

There' s no guarantee it would work that way, but it won't - get through the Senate

[ In Reply To ..]
and the House knew it, so it was a big waste of time, but what else is new?

But to your point:

"Critics also say the bill lets employers decide whether to grant a specific request to use comp time, so workers have no guarantee of when they could use the time."

Kinda hard to plan a vacation if your employer has all the control. This bill just gives the employer too much control.

But again, just a big waste of time by the house to placate their base.

I know it won't get through the Senate, - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
but I just wanted Republican voters to see how their representatives from the fringe, extreme right wing want to take money away from them.

The middle class is shrinking. Maybe some of you feel all secure and safe under Republican leadership, but this is an example of how low Republicans in Congress have gone, particularly the people in the red states.

No matter what anyone shows them, though, it just won't sink in, and they will keep worshiping their "hero" Congress people, while they eventually earn less and less, instead of more and more.

You can lead a horse to water...

Maybe do some research and think about it - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I can't believe in the atmosphere of MTSOs and how they manipulate our PTO, anyone could see how bad this could be.

In the instance of MTs this bill would open the door for MTSOs to take away earned time. It would allow them to not pay us for OT and instead convert it into PTO. If you want time off, you have to work for it.

No person who holds a job, unless that job is management or ownership, would think this is a good thing. Unless that person just likes the bill because the Republicans introduced it.

Think about it. You work overtime, but you don't get paid for it. Oh, but you do get the time off, and from MTSO standards, at what rate will they pay that time off. They will think of any way possible to low-ball the MT.

No thanks, I'll take the time and a half sure thing.

Thank you for a logical, sensible reply. - nm

[ In Reply To ..]

Time to wake up - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
That's the democrats plan and it's happening right now. Democrats are imposing the highest tax on the middle income, now forcing us into lower class. Middle income are the ones paying for all the freebies and bull **** programs. We are the ones now moving into lower income.

Democrats won't be happy until there is no middle income. It will be them (all rich by the way) and us, the poor dependent on all their programs because we can't afford what we used to be able to.

Democrats are going to be the downfall of our country. Especially over the last 4 years. Now it's just escalating at an alarming rate.

Wake up people

This bill had nothing to do with taxes. It had to do with - allowing companies to

[ In Reply To ..]
take away OT and convert it to PTO at their discretion. --something I'm sure MTSOs would embrace wholeheartedly.

Introduced by House Republicans, soon to be shot down by the Senate.

NO IT DOESN'T!!!!! - Truthhurts

[ In Reply To ..]
Read the bill....slowly...so you can take in the real meaning of it.

The "real meaning" of it is that republicans want - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
to bring back slavery, only this time, instead of separating by race, they will use separation by income.

Gosh... and I took all that time explaining why I thought it - is a bad idea below

[ In Reply To ..]
and you summed it up in one sentence!!!

:-)

What you wrote is completely BACKWARDS - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
from reality.

totally, amazingly backwards - nm

[ In Reply To ..]

Nope... she had it right. The evidence is everywhere. - YOU need to wake up! nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

typical wake up call from the right who has nothing - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

I think you need more sleep - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't even understand where your notions are coming from. It is not the the democrats who are imposing high taxes on the middle class.

Before the sequester, the right was complaining that the rich were being treated unfairly - and now you're worried about the middle class? A little too late for that now. Go back to sleep.

Obamacare alone is going to kill us. Wake up! - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

How? my new moniker since it's so popular among Reps-- - WAKE UP nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

ROFLMBO!!! I love it! - sm

[ In Reply To ..]

Wish some folks would take a long nap so we rich Democrats could carry out our nefarious plans in pe - YD

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

When Congress passes a bill, PLEASE read it - Truthhurts

[ In Reply To ..]
Don't depend on blogs, newspapers, opinion pieces from EITHER side to report it. You know they will only pick and chose what to report on.

Go to the source. Tell me what's wrong with it.

This is what passed the House:

H.R. 1406 and companion H.Res. 198: Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee.

Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time. Requires an employee's employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year.

Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off.

Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee's right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time.

Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.

>>>>>>>>

What Is wrong with the above "law"? I want honest opinions and comments, not arguments of "because it's a Republican bill," "because it's no good," yada, yada.

Don't MT's work for compensatory time off called PTO? I know I did and I was never cheated out of the time owed, as some of you think this bill will allow. If the MTSO's can't get away with "cheating" on PTO, then why do you think a company would be able to cheat?

Sorry for this being all one paragraph. It wasn't like that - Truthhurts

[ In Reply To ..]
when I was writing it. Don't know what happened.

No worries, the "yada yada" still stuck out like a sore thumb - condescending as usual

[ In Reply To ..]
x

I thought that's what I did above - read the posts

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't want my employer to be able to convert my OT to PTO at their discretion.

"Don't MT's work for compensatory time off called PTO?"

PTO is a benefit offered by a company. They can take away PTO as a benefit and use mandatory OT as employees' means to accrue PTO. In my opinion, that's not a good thing.

I'm not for the bill and I explained it above.

You may think this benefits employees. I don't.

So you read H.R. 1406 and it's companion bill? - Truthhurts

[ In Reply To ..]
"Employers can only provide compensatory time if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee.

YOU, the EMPLOYEE, also has to approve this change.

"Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time."

That would equal 4 weeks' time.

"Requires an employee's employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year."

IOW, cash at the end of the year at a rate of 1-1/2 hours OT if not used during the year.

"Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off."

Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee's right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time. Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.

The above 2 "rules" are self-explanatory. You still think this bill benefits employers? Why?

Yes, I do because - SM

[ In Reply To ..]
It does not prevent employers from changing existing benefits.

It does not prevent employer from taking away or reducing PTO that existed before the bill and use OT as a way of accruing PTO.

For example, an employer can take away PTO benefits, enforce mandatory OT (or not), and employee can make a choice, OT and no PTO (which in some instances--also incorporates holidays and sick time) or PTO via OT accrual. If PTO can be reduced as a benefit, employees would have no choice, if they want time off, but to work OT.

This would be a good way for employers to reduce their workforce. If 4 workers can do the work of 6, 2 workers can be disposed of (exponential in large businesses). To me this bill would enhance the sweatshop mentality.

"IOW, cash at the end of the year at a rate of 1-1/2 hours OT if not used during the year."

I don't want to wait until the end of the year. I want compensation for the pay period I did the OT. What a great way for the employer to invest and use my money.

One other thing I'm not finding or maybe it's there and I don't understand the legal jargon: Is the OT that is converted into PTO time and a half? Do I get a half hour extra for every hour of OT? In which case 160 hours should translate into 6 weeks. If that's not the case, then it certainly is an advantage to the employer.

Why do you think this benefits employees (MTs in particular, in light of course of hot and cold running complaints about MTSOs on MTStars always looking for ways to undercut MTs)?

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