House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives

A recent survey from CareerBuilder.com found that forty-three percent of working moms would take a pay cut to spend more time with their kids. For many families juggling the demands of work and home, time is much more valuable than the pay they would receive for working overtime.

Unfortunately, current law today prevents working families in the private sector from having the same flexibility given to government workers. That’s why I recently introduced the Family-Friendly Workplace Act, which will give families the freedom to make choices that work best for them as well as meet the needs of our 21st century workforce.

I invite you to co-sponsor the Family-Friendly Workplace Act, H.R. 6025, which would allow all families the freedom to make the choice that works best for them. The Family-Friendly Workplace Act would remove obstacles in outdated federal law that prevent employers from providing increased flexibility to their employees who are covered by the overtime provisions of existing law.

The Family-Friendly Workplace Act gives employers the option of offering employees the choice of paid time off in lieu of cash wages for overtime hours worked if the employee prefers to take compensatory time instead of overtime pay.  My bill is clear that an employee is always entitled to opt for the overtime cash wages if that is their choice.

This isn’t just a workforce issue; this is a community and family issue. We all want more time in our day. Since we cannot add more hours to the day, the Family-Friendly Workplace Act would give working people the opportunity to put in the time needed to get the job done, but also make sure they have the time to make it to the soccer game, school play, and stay home with a sick child or care for an elderly parent.

If you have questions or would like to sign on as a co-sponsor, please contact Kristin Garesché with my office at 5-2006 or email her at Kristin.Garesche@mail.house.gov.

Best Wishes,                                                               

Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Member of Congress

H.R. 6025 has been endorsed by the American Hospital Association, American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, Associated Builders and Contractors, the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Business, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, Society for Human Resource Management, Tree Care Industry Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce