CalChamber-Sponsored Flexible Workweek Bill Would Give Employers and Employees Much Needed Flexibility

Business Wire,  April 18, 2007  

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Current Law is Inflexible

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Assembly Bill 510 (Benoit; R-Palm Desert) -- a bill that will help employers and employees achieve greater flexibility in work schedules -- is being heard this afternoon by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee in Room 447 of the State Capitol.

AB 510 would allow employees to work four 10-hour days a week if the employee desires the schedule and the employer agrees to the compressed schedule. If the employer agrees to the proposed 4-day workweek schedule, the 4-day workweek will be paid at straight time rates. Any work performed beyond the compressed work schedule would remain subject to current California overtime requirements.

"As the law stands today, individual employees do not have the right to seek and arrange individual flexible schedules with their employers," said Marti Fisher, CalChamber policy advocate. "AB 510 will provide individual workers much needed flexibility to permit four-day workweeks for workers desiring to find a balance between work and personal lives."

Gregory Lippe, managing partner of accounting firm Lippe, Hellie, Hoffer & Allison in Woodland Hills, supports AB 510 because his employees would benefit from the flexibility in commuting and work schedules. He noted that being able to offer the benefit would help his business with employee recruitment and retention.

"Having the option of a flexible work schedule would be a great benefit to provide my employees," Lippe said. "It would allow me to offer each employee a schedule that best suits their work and commuting needs. In a competitive employment market, the more I can do to support and retain my employees the better my business will perform."

Ruth Evans, owner of The Evans HR Group, a human resource management firm, added that the legislation would make it easier for employees to spend more time with their families and achieve the life-work balance she notes more employees are seeking.

"Having more flexibility in employees' work schedules would allow them to spend more time with their families, tending to children or the needs of older relatives without having to sacrifice time from work," said Evans. "Each household has different needs and this bill gives each employee the flexibility to decide what schedule works best for them and their family."

The hospitality industry has a high degree of seasonality, noted Oran Cogdill of CEO Lodging, which operates a Best Western hotel in Fresno. This provides an excellent opportunity for employees who wish to work a compressed schedule.

"Since the busiest time at my hotel is Thursday-Sunday, many of my employees could benefit from working four ten-hour days and getting the three slow days off," said Cogdill. "In fact, my business offered this schedule with great success in the past while it was allowed in California."

Scott Raty of the San Francisco Bay Area's Hayward Chamber of Commerce noted the additional traffic and environmental benefits of the proposal. "In the Bay Area, as in much of California, traffic congestion is a huge problem," Raty said. "Allowing employees to work a four-day week would eliminate one commuting day and stagger more of the remaining commutes. This reduction in commuting and intensity would also provide tremendous benefit to our air quality and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Current Law

California law requires overtime compensation to 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 work week.

California is one of only four states that do not conform wage laws to the national Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA bases its overtime compensation requirements for salaried, non-exempt employees on total hours worked per week, rather than total hours worked per day.

Under current and very detailed California Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders, employers may institute alternative work schedules only if the affected employees agree to the arrangement in writing and by secret ballot.

Employers must hold discussion meetings at least 14 days before voting. Two-thirds of the company's employees must agree to the change. Any deviation from the rigidly controlled process voids the election.

The rules also state that daily work schedules are limited to a maximum of 10 hours per day, with a four-hour daily minimum. Variances in schedules or the use of more than one schedule is prohibited without repeating the voting process.

This complex process in effect prohibits most employers and employees from choosing schedule options such as flextime, part-time, job sharing, telecommuting and compressed workweeks. Employers that are offering a staggered work schedule without going through an election process are operating in violation of the law.

The CalChamber is urging employers and employees to contact their Assemblymembers and member of the Assembly committee to voice support for AB 510.