Proponent Testimony before the
Senate Insurance, Commerce & Labor Committee
Senate Bill 31
William Fitzgibbon
Director, Ohio Small Business Council

Senate Insurance, Commerce & Labor CommitteeMr. Chairman and members of the Senate Insurance Commerce and Labor Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is William Fitzgibbon and I am the Director of the Ohio Small Business Council (OSBC). I am here to testify on behalf of the members of OSBC and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce in support of SB 31, sponsored by Senator Kevin Coughlin.

Under federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 prohibits “comp time” by requiring a forty-hour workweek and time-and-a-half pay for each hour worked over forty hours to employees in companies with annual gross sales in excess of $500,000. Under Ohio’s Minimum Wage Law, an employer with annual gross sales between $150,000 and $500,000 is also required to pay an employee one and one-half times the employee’s hourly rate for each hour that the employee works in excess of 40 hours per week. But, there are a few exceptions to these rules.

Currently, federal employees, who have enjoyed the ability to accrue compensatory time since 1978, and employees of the state and other political subdivisions, have been able to receive this type of benefit for many years. This bill would extend that option to private sector hourly employees in companies who have annual gross sales between $150,000 and $500,000.

SB 31 would allow employers and employees to jointly develop work schedules and overtime compensation mechanisms that best meet the needs of both the business and its employees. SB 31 would allow a smaller employer, upon the request of an employee, to grant compensatory time for the employee to use or accumulate over a year’s time. The compensatory time is accumulated at a rate of 1.5 hours for every hour worked in excess of the consensual work schedule, whether weekly or biweekly, in lieu of paid overtime.

Today’s workforce is very different from that of 1938, when the current wage and hour laws were originally enacted. With more working parents and women at work, there is a greater demand to balance employees’ professional and family lives.

SB 31 recognizes this change in the private sector workplace by balancing both employer and employee needs. Employers, especially small employers, are seeking less regulation and more flexibility to meet their employee’s needs. This legislation will allow an employer to provide the option of a more flexible work schedule to help retain or attract qualified employees, while still providing employees the paid time off to accommodate their ever changing family circumstances. This bill insures that this can only be done in a mutually agreed upon arrangement and is a “win-win” for both employer and employee.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee thank you for this opportunity to provide proponent testimony on SB 31 and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.