FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 4th, 2014
CONTACT: John-Paul Yates, 952-405-8510 or JohnPaul.Yates@mail.house.gov

Paulsen Votes to Protect Workers and Firefighters
Obamacare Employer Mandate Will Decrease Hours and Wages for Workers

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Erik Paulsen (MN-03) voted to restore the 40-hour workweek as the House Ways and Means Committee passed a bill to repeal the 30-hour rule established in Obamacare. Millions of Americans working in education, hospitality, retail, food service and public safety are having their hours and wages cut up to 25 percent as employers are forced to deal with the additional costs imposed by the law.

“It’s clear that Obamacare’s employer mandate is forcing some companies to scale back employees’ hours and move workers from full-time to part-time positions.” said Paulsen. “Restoring the 40-hour workweek will protect the wages and hours of low-income workers who need it most.”  

Under Obamacare, employers with 50 or more full-time employees must provide healthcare to those full-time employees or pay a fine. The law defines full-time employees as those employed on average of at least 30 hours per week. H.R. 2575, the Save American Workers Act, repeals the 30-hour rule for full-time employees and replaces it with the traditional definition of full-time work of 40 hours per week.

A recent Hoover Institution study found that 2.6 million Americans making under $30,000 a year are at a high risk for having their hours reduced and their wages cut due to the 30-hour rule. The majority of these at-risk workers are women, and nearly 90 percent do not have a college degree. This study coincides with a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office, which says that the new healthcare law will cost the nation nearly 2.3 million jobs by 2021 and increase the deficit by $1 trillion.

In addition, Paulsen voted in favor of H.R. 3939, the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act. Under current law, volunteer firefighters and EMTs are counted towards the number of full-time employees in an organization for the purpose of the employer mandate. This bill will ensure these volunteer emergency responders are not counted as full-time employees, protecting volunteer firefighters and EMTs from seeing reduced hours.

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.
For more information on Rep. Paulsen’s work in Congress and to view previous editions of Erik’s Correspondence Corner visit www.paulsen.house.gov.
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