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Moving in the Right Direction

Bill to Save 40-hour Workweek Protects Classrooms and Workplaces

The House is expected to vote later today on the Save American Workers Act (H.R. 30), legislation to repeal ObamaCare’s 30-hour definition of “full-time employment” and restore the traditional 40-hour workweek. In a statement threatening to veto this bipartisan jobs bill, the White House said there is “no evidence” the law is causing a shift to part-time work. The administration is either in denial or simply unaware that its signature health care law is:

  • Making it harder for workers to find full-time jobs. Current press reports show the law will lead many employers in the retail industry to cut full-time employees in favor of part-time positions, and restaurants have already been forced to cut hours. At a congressional oversight hearing, one witness testified the 30-hour rule could reduce hours for as many as 2.3 million workers. As a number of business leaders write, “[ObamaCare] was supposed to help low- and middle-income workers. Instead, it’s creating disincentives for employers to offer workers more hours.”
                
  • Undermining the ability of teachers and school leaders to provide students a quality education. Time after time we’ve seen the law negatively impact our nation’s schools – from diminished wages and hours for teachers, to reduced services for students. Recent press reports continue to reveal the damage wreaked by the mandate: Louisiana students are increasingly taught by substitutes instead of full-time teachers, and one Indiana school district was forced to cut the hours of hundreds of employees. This reflects what the committee has heard from teachers, parents and students across the country.

In case the Obama administration is still not convinced, perhaps they will heed the concerns of their union allies. Once staunch supporters of the president’s law, unions are now raising concerns. Here is what prominent union leaders have said about ObamaCare’s assault on full-time work:

  • The ACA will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class​ … the law creates an incentive for employers to keep employees’ work hours below 30 hours a week … The impact is two-fold: fewer hours means less pay while also losing our current health benefits.International Brotherhood of Teamsters, UFCW, UNITE-HERE
               
  • The ACA includes a limited employer responsibility penalty that applies just to medium and large employers, and then only for employees who work 30 hours or more per week … Employers are preparing to avoid paying penalties by cutting workers’ hours and pay, thereby creating a new underclass of less-than-30-hour workers.AFL-CIO

The evidence is clear: the 30-hour rule threatens the strength of the country’s schools and workplaces and hurts working families. Even some of the president’s closest allies now recognize this troubling reality. It’s time for the president to do the same and he can start by supporting the Save American Workers Act.

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