House Passes Changes to Overtime Rules

On May 2, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1180) and sent it to the Senate for review. If approved, H.R. 1180 would authorize private employers to offer compensatory time instead of overtime pay for nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours per week.

Compensatory time off is already a common practice for many federal and state employers, but it is not currently allowed by the Fair Labor Standards Act for private employers.

 H.R. 1180 Proposes:

• Compensatory time off be calculated at the rate of 1.5 hours of compensatory time off for every hour of overtime work
• Expiration within five years of its enactment
• Would limit the amount of compensatory time off eligible employees may receive to 160 hours
• Both employers and employees would have to agree to compensatory time off instead of overtime wages
• Would prohibit employers from coercing or forcing employees to agree to receive or use compensatory time off instead of overtime wages
• Employees would be eligible to receive compensatory time off after 1,000 hours of continuous employment during the previous 12 months

No action steps are currently required of employers. The bulletin provided below offers additional information on the proposed requirements of compensatory time off usage and eligibility under H.R. 1180.

Download the full bulletin

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