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Paulsen Votes to Restore Workers' Hours and Wages

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday afternoon passed, in a bipartisan vote, the Save American Workers Act to define the work week as 40 hours under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03), a cosponsor of the bill, voted in favor of the legislation. Currently, the ACA classifies a worker as full-time if they work 30 or more hours per week. Because the health care law requires any company employing over 50 full-time employees to provide health care insurance, many workers have seen their hours cut to force them into part-time status.

“By pushing employees below 30 hours a week, the health care law is handcuffing workers’ ability to pay the bills, buy groceries, and save for the future,” said Paulsen. “This law is also placing an unnecessary burden on hourly workers who live paycheck to paycheck. Under this legislation, employees will have more flexibility to work the number of hours that is best for their families and them.”

Congressman Paulsen, a cosponsor of the legislation, spoke on the House floor in favor of the Save American Workers Act and shared the stories of two small business owners in his district who are being forced to cut employee hours due to the health care law’s mandate. For hourly workers, this could mean as much as a 25% reduction in wages if the definition of full-time is not changed. Video of his floor speech can be found here.

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 visit paulsen.house.gov.

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