Is cutting overtime pay an attempt to "create" jobs?

[dansolo]

One of the biggest hurdles that Bush is going to have is the massive job loss that he has caused. I wonder if the objective of cutting overtime pay is an attempt to boost job creation by paying the existing workers less money. Under these circumstances, jobs may be created without any real growth. This exactly the type of thing that Karl Rove would think up.

[LittleApple81]

1. I don't think so.

It probably is designed to save money for the employers. People will be working the same number of hours, some of which they used to get overtime for. The only difference is that now they will be called "managers" and not get paid for the overtime.

[asjr]

5. overtime

It is just another way for the WH to screw us over.

[Bozita]

2. That's the topic on Ski Anderson streaming now.

http://www.wlsam.com/

[lcordero]

3. nope

People being required to work more and for free means that more jobs will be cut.

[Pepperbelly]

4. it would have the opposite effect ...

One of the reasons for hiring more workers is so that x amount of work can be accomplished for y amount of money. Overtime rates encourage hiring of new employees because the management could use the new people for 40 hours and not have to pay 150% of wages.

This is yet another shoot-theirself-in-the-foot move by Whistle-ass and his thugs, on the same par as stockpiling oil into the strategic reserve when the supply is low, thus driving up prices by reducing the amount of oil in the marketplace.

:crazy:

They are literally insane with their hatred of regular people.

[Nikia]

6. I don't think it would

Let's say that production demands require that your 100 employees work 50 hours per week. That is 10 hours per week paid at time and a half. A company might decide to hire more employees to avoid paying that 10 hours time and a half per employee. If the employees are all paid straight time for their additional hours of work, management will not hire more employees to cut the overtime hours of the existing workers. They might even lay off some workers and make everyone work 60 hours per week instead.

[danbee46]

7. It's a reward for his friends.......

....and another slap at unions and the working person. The purpose, pure and simple, is to increase profits for businesses. They will have the same number of person-hours of work at far less cost.

[Az]

8. Deregulation has knocked the legs out

from under any remaining corporate interest in remaining loyal to any particular country. The Corporate entity unrestrained will not serve human interests and will only serve itself. Thus the only lure that now works is forcing the humans to serve its needs.

With the controls off the only insentive that works for corporations is cheap labor. The right has created the perfect storm. In order to keep our entire economy from emptying they need to reduce our population to the same levels that are found elsewhere.

The left has been striving for redistribution of wealth for some time now. The corporations have initiated the redistribution that the left sought. Only they have done so with themself positioned at the top. Creating a new Feudal System. Whoever does not bow to the corporate state will find themself taken out of the labor market.

Bush Co knows what they have done. The only means they have to keep our economy from tanking is to evicerate the lower and middle class. There is not a lot of give in the blue collar sector so white collar is going to take the brunt of this hit. Either that or the disappear entirely.

[screembloodymurder]

9. Hell no !

my boss said "when things (the economy) get better, he's not hiring more people; he's going to work the existing employees longer hours". This is supposed to be an incentive. Instead of a raise we'll be able to work longer for straight time pay. He can shove his OT up his ass.

[billyskank]

10. I saw a Dilbert cartoon just like that n/t

[Az]

12. Do more with less

This is the current mantra in the business world.

[liberalmuse]

11. I'm so outraged by this...

I work for a government contractor and we have deadlines, so that means sometimes we work overtime for months on end. The only thing that gets me through is the time and a half pay. My employer probably won't hire more people--he needs the really experienced people working on a project, so this just means that we are going to have to work are asses to the bone, without the time and a half that makes it almost worth it. If these bastards went to hell for a thousand years for all their crimes, it wouldn't be near enough punishment.

[FireHeart]

13. There's another little thing...

If they actually do get this horror working, people who are in a "planned layoff" situation will not only lose all vacation time due them, but also all "comp time" that is due them.

It will save the employers tons of money and seriously hurt the employee. Which, of course, is what Dubya had planned all along.

Even if they aren't declared "managers" (thus salaried), they, the hourly workers, will lose possibly thousands of dollars in pay. One question I've asked a lot of people but have not yet been given a plausible answer is: "Is 'comp time' considered taxable income?" Vacation time is. Will you be required by the IRS to pay taxes on income you have *earned* but not given? I am aware that vacation time cannot be taxed until you've actually gotten your check. But "comp time" in this sense, could be considered income.

Just curious.

[Nikia]

14. Question about that Labor act

It is my understanding that people making less than $22,000 per year must be paid overtime regardless of title. My husband works for a small business that pays him $320 per week regardles of how much he works. Some weeks he does close to nothing but there are a few weeks that he puts in close to 100 hours per week. Is he entited to be paid overtime during those weeks or could his employer consider the light weeks as comp time?

[carpetbagger]

15. No, just more of the same from Cheap Labor Conservatives.

Sure, it could be geared at "recovery", but it's actually counterproductive in that measure.

It's just another way to squeeze more out of workers.