Private-Sector Comp Time – Don’t Count On It!

By Jessica A. Schoendienst

Compensatory time off or “comp time” is paid time off that is provided to employees instead of overtime pay.  Comp time has been used by public employers for decades.  There have been several attempts in the past to legalize comp time for private sector employers.  So far, no changes to the law have been passed.

On May 2, 2017, H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017, passed the U.S. House of Representatives 229-197.  All Democrats and six Republicans voted against the bill.  H.R. 1180 must also pass the U.S. Senate in order to be presented to the President.  The White House Administration has already indicated that if H.R. 1180 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.  However, given that at least some Democrats must vote in favor of the bill in the Senate it is unlikely that the President will ever be given this chance.

Read about the amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at http://blog.hrusa.com/blog/private-sector-comp-time-dont-count/.