FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IR # 97-05
Thursday, January 23, 1997
CONTACT:
Rick Rice
(415) 972-8835
IWC to Vote on Suggestions for Workweek Flexibility
SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC)
will meet Friday, January 24, 1997, and is expected to vote on suggested
language to reform California's daily overtime regulations. The 11:00 a.m.
public meeting will be held at the Public Health Building, 101 Grove Street,
Room 300, in San Francisco.
There are currently three alternatives before the Commission to amend the
overtime regulations governing five of the state's 15 separate industrial wage orders. The suggestions before the IWC include:
- Conforming California's rules to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act,
requiring overtime pay after 40 hours of work in a week rather than after eight
hours work in a day;
- Authorizing a majority of employees and their employer to agree on a schedule
and to require overtime pay after 12 hours of work in a day;
- Requiring time-and-a-half pay to employees after 12 hours in a day and 40
hours in a week.
The IWC held five investigatory public hearings during 1995-1996 and
also convened five wage boards to analyze existing daily overtime requirements,
the need for flexible scheduling and associated technical issues. Public meetings were held in Oakland, Los Angeles, Merced, San Jose,
San Francisco and San Diego.
If the Commission votes to move forward with any of the suggestions before it,
or with other suggestions, the IWC will then schedule three public hearings
throughout California to collect comments on the proposed change. Those
hearings could begin as early as March 1997.
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