George Miller: “Mr. Chairman, we offer this substitute, many of my colleagues on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, we offer…”

“Mr. Chairman, we offer this substitute, many of my colleagues on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, we offer this substitute because we do not believe that the legislation before us meets the test of flexibility, that it meets the test of voluntary, and that it meets the test of the right of the worker to choose when and how to use the comptime should they decide to opt into that system. We believe that the legislation before us denies that voluntary choice, allows the employer to have too much say, and we believe that it also denies the worker the right to say when they want to use that time. This is a disagreement between the two sides. It has been a disagreement we have had from the time this bill was heard in committee. We also offer this substitute for a very important reason for workers of this country. It is constantly suggested that somehow the choice of comptime is a wonderful thing and it is free, you just decide you want to work overtime and instead of getting overtime pay you take comptime. Let me explain to the Members that this has serious ramifications for workers.”