The proposed bill would allow employees who work over 40 hours a week, to choose between overtime pay or time off at a later date. Supporters of the bill say it will provide more flexibility to workers trying to balance the demands of career and family. Labor leaders feel that the current overtime law, which prohibits employers from offering compensatory time off as an alternative to overtime pay, is an important protection for workers. They feel that employers will be more likely to extend the 40-hour workweek if they are not forced to offer premium pay to overtime workers, and they fear that overtime may only be offered to those workers who agree to the comp time option.
See "House GOP pulls overtime bill off schedule", USA Today, June 4, 2003