GOP pushes worker flex time

House Republicans are pushing legislation that would allow employers to offer comp time or paid time off instead of paying workers overtime. It is part of a broader effort to loosen workplace regulations, which were substantially tightened under former President Barack Obama’s administration.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the Working Families Flexibility Act, legislation that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow private-sector workers to receive compensatory time off at a rate of at least one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. The option would become available once the employee has worked 1,000 hours for his employer.