WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called on the Senate to pass the McConnell-Ayotte-Isakson amendment to allow flexible workplace arrangements such as compensatory time and flexible credit hour agreements to be extended to businesses with hourly workers. On the Senate floor, Senator McConnell asked for unanimous consent to offer the amendment, but it was immediately blocked by Senate Democrats. The McConnell flex-time amendment is cosponsored by Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA).  Senator McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor:

“For weeks, Republicans have been trying to get Democrats to focus on the one issue that Americans say they care about most — jobs and the economy

“Everybody agrees we’re in the midst of a jobs crisis in this country — What Republicans have been saying is here are some concrete things we could actually do about it.

“But Democrats have completely shut us out. If government isn’t part of the solution, or if it doesn’t drive a wedge between one group of people and another, they’re just not interested.

“Here’s just one idea I’ve proposed and that Democrats have brushed aside: How about we help workers better balance the demands of work and family by allowing them time off as a form of overtime compensation?

“This is an idea that’s tailored to the needs of the modern workforce. It’s something a lot of working women say they want. It’s something government employees have already enjoyed for years.

“What we’re saying is let’s give today’s working women in the private sector that same kind of flexibility.

“Everybody’s familiar with the idea of getting paid ‘time and a half’ for overtime work.

“What this bill would do is give people the choice of getting a proportionate bump in time off for overtime work — so if you work an hour extra, you can get an hour and a half off work.

“So this should be a no-brainer. This is a concrete proposal to help men and women adapt to the needs of the modern workplace and for the workplace to adapt to the modern workforce.

“This isn’t just a way to help workers. It’s a way to especially help working mothers.

“Flexibility is a major part of achieving work/life balance — especially for working moms.

“That’s what this amendment is all about.”

Background: Senator McConnell’s legislation would amend the FLSA to allow private employers to offer comp time to employees at a rate of one-and-one-half hours for every hour of overtime work. A completely voluntary process, an employee can still choose to receive monetary payments as their overtime compensation. This bill simply allows the option for employees to choose paid time off for overtime work instead. It also institutes a flexible credit-hour program, under which the employer and employee can enter into agreements that allow the employee to work excess hours beyond the typical number of hours he or she is typically required to work in order to accrue hours to be taken off at a later time. This option is for employees who do not get the opportunity to work overtime, but still want a way to build up hours to use as paid leave.

Like comp time, this program is voluntary and may not affect collective bargaining agreements that are in place. Under this legislation, employers would not be mandated to offer the flexible workplace arrangements, just as employees are not mandated to choose these benefits rather than direct compensation for overtime work.

A 2010 study conducted by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, for example, found that work flexibility programs can “reduce turnover and improve recruitment, [increase] the productivity of an employer’s workforce, and are associated with improved employee health and decreased absenteeism.”  Another study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Managers found that women’s responsibilities have increased at work and men’s responsibilities have increased at home, resulting in 60 percent of wage and salaried employees feeling they don’t have enough time to spend with their loved ones.

The McConnell flex-time measure is supported by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. David Adkisson, President and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber, said the legislation “would allow private employers to give employees the flexibility they want by permitting them to offer paid time as overtime compensation for non-exempt hourly employees. Our members throughout the Commonwealth would find value in being able to provide this benefit to their employees. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce strongly supports this legislation and we appreciate Senator McConnell’s leadership on this issue.”