Witnesses Cite Benefits of Flexible Work Schedules for U.S. Workers

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The House Workforce Protections Subcommittee heard testimony today on the use of various flexible work schedules by public sector employees. Several witnesses testified about the benefits of various flexible work schedules used by public sector employees, and how such benefits could be employed in the private sector. The hearing was the second in a series designed to lay the groundwork for future consideration of legislative proposals to provide greater scheduling flexibility for private sector workers.

     Subcommittee Chairman Charlie Norwood (R-GA) said “Workers want options that will allow them to make choices about spending more time with their families or pursuing interests outside of work.” Norwood noted, however, that current law “fails to provide private sector workers with what they need and expect to have in terms of workplace flexibility.”

     Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL), author of the Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1982), which would allow private-sector workers the same ability to use compensatory time flexibility arrangements, said Congress should “ensure that private sector workers are permitted the same degree of flexibility under the law as their public sector counterparts.”

     Donald Winstead, Assistant Director for Compensation Management for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), said that flexible work schedules are an “important fixture in the federal workplace. A 1998 survey conducted by OPM found that 92 percent of federal agencies reported offering flexible work schedules, and 79 percent reported offering compressed work schedules.”

    Winstead concluded by saying that the government’s flexible work schedules were considered a “successful program and a key component of the federal government’s strategic rewards environment.”

     For nearly two decades, public sector employees have enjoyed the benefits of flexible work schedules, such as the ability to receive compensatory time in lieu of overtime pay if they choose.

     Thomas Anderson, Human Resources Director for Fort Bend County, Texas, said “it is troubling that the federal government has not extended this same benefit to hardworking private sector employees who contribute equally to this nation’s workforce and economy.”

     Anderson also said that, “In light of the federal government’s inaction, two states have recognized the importance of granting compensatory time off not only to public sector employees but to those working in private industry. Michigan and Washington have acknowledged the important role that compensatory time off plays in the workplace,” and have enacted legislation to allow compensatory time for private sector workers.

     Andy Brantley, the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources at the University of Georgia, said that, “From my perspective having worked for both a public and a private university in human resources, I believe employees at private universities should be afforded the same flexibility that their public sector counterparts enjoy to help meet their own work-family needs by allowing all employees the opportunity to have the choice between compensatory time and overtime pay.”

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