This morning, Assemblymember John J. Benoit (R-Riverside) introduced Assembly Bill 2127 to allow employees and employers flexibility in their work schedules. This is one of the most important legislative proposals of 2008 and deserves the attention of Long Beach employers, employees, elected officials and other stakeholders.
The proposal, known as the Small Business Family Scheduling Option, will allow a small business (25 or less employees) to agree to an employee’s request to work four 10-hour days a week, or eight nine-hour days and one eight-hour day in two weeks. This bill applies exclusively to small businesses with 25 or fewer employees that are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
I urge you contact Senator Alan Lowenthal at (562) 495-4766, Senator Jenny Oropeza at (310) 318-6994 and Assemblymember Betty Karnette (562) 997-0794 and ask them to support Assemblymember Benoit’s Small Business Family Scheduling Option.
Working a compressed four-day workweek provides up to 50 extra non-work days each year for the average full-time employee. Employees struggle with striking a balance between work and family. Workplace flexibility isn’t just about working families or women, it’s about everyone.
Traffic and frequency of long commutes at peak hours diminishes our quality of life. California’s long commutes at peak drive time add to the pressure of balancing work and family. According to the US Census Bureau in 2004, the average commute time in California is 27 minutes which would be over 225 hours per year. Eliminating just one day per week would give back an average of over 50 hours per year to each of California’s commuting employees who work their forty hours in four days, while taking them off the road would also ease congestion.
Fewer trips to the workplace result in lower carbon emissions. The California Air Resources Board Economic and Technology Advancement Advisory Committee (ETAAC) draft report suggests that flexible working hours would result in a 10 percent reduction in emissions with 10 percent of employees using the schedule.
Under current California law, overtime compensation must be paid for work performed by an hourly employee who works in excess of eight hours in a single day or more than 40 hours in a single workweek. Employers may institute alternative work schedules only if a supermajority of affected employees agree to the arrangement by secret ballot and then all employees are subject to the alternative scheduling. Any deviation from the rigidly controlled process voids the election and subjects the employer to potential lawsuits that can seek up to three years of back overtime pay for affected workers, along with huge penalties and fines.
Here are some key points of Benoit’s proposed legislation:
– Union employees and their employers would not be affected by the new options being offered in the bill as they are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
– The request for the Family Scheduling Option must be made by the employee, in writing, and it must be made voluntarily.
– The employer is required to maintain a copy of the written agreement as they would any personnel record – for three years beyond termination of the agreement.
– Either the employee or the employer can revoke the agreement at any time, provided they give seven days written notice.
– Any hours worked beyond the compressed workweek hours must be paid at normal overtime rates, and
– The employer is prohibited from reducing the employee’s regular rate of pay as a result of the employee adopting an alternative work week schedule.
Increased professional flexibility in our changing world is important to meet the economic demands of the future. Again, please contact Senator Alan Lowenthal at (562) 495-4766, Senator Jenny Oropeza at (310) 318-6994 and Assemblymember Betty Karnette (562) 997-0794 and ask them to support Assemblymember Benoit’s Small Business Family Scheduling Option.