A Republican bill aimed at expanding opportunities for flextime was recently killed in the state Capitol. Labor unions and some Democratic lawmakers viewed the effort as a way for employers to get around having to pay overtime.
Flextime refers to the ability of an employee to work four 10-hour days and have three days off, rather than working a full five-day work week at eight hours a day. California law now mandates that a workday consists of eight hours, and anything over that is subject to overtime pay of time and a half.
The only exception is for nurses and farm hands. Opponents of the bill argue that current law already allows for adequate flexibility (i.e. employees can work out scheduling issues with their managers).
The bill’s author, Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway of Tulare, said in a statement: “Assembly Bill 907 would have allowed Californians to work more than eight hours in a day without overtime in exchange for additional time off.” Forty-seven other states currently allow for flextime.
California had similar flextime rules in the early 1990s, under Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. His successor, Gov. Gray Davis, signed the current eight-hour work week into law in 1999.
Is flextime an option most working parents need these days? Is it crucial that people only work 8 hours a day? Would you like the option to work a four-day week if it meant longer hours?
Guests:
Connie Conway (R-Tulare), California State Assemblywoman representing the 26th Assembly District, including Tulare, Visalia and Mountain Park. She sponsored Assembly Bill 907, which would have allowed Californians to work more than 8 hours in a day without overtime in exchange for additional time off. The bill was voted down in January
Barry Broad, lobbyist for a number of unions in California, including Teamsters. He is a former member of the California Industrial Welfare Commission, and helped reinstate regulations for overtime pay after eight hours worked in one day under Governor Gray Davis.