Thanks a million, Max. I see now that the stuff in that DOL .pdf file is a separate administrative matter from the two bills proposed by Congress. Could you who study this stuff in detail please clarify something about HR 1119 / S 317 to me?
Do I have this right? This is the story I've been telling people at work today, who to a man insist I must be mistaken, it can't be so, as it would obviously be mass political suicide for those fine, patriotic Republicans:
Suppose you work 60 hours this week for, say, $10.00 per hour. On your next weekly paycheck you open the envelope and just like it's always been, there's 40 hours straight time, that's $400.00, plus 20 hours at time-and-a-half, that's $300.00, for a total of $700.00. But after the passage of HR 1119 / S 317 the new plan is, you'll get 40 hours straight time, $400.00, and _that's all_ on the next paycheck, together with a promise that at some unspecified time during the next 12 months you'll get paid straight time for the other 20 hours, that is if the company you work for doesn't hand out million-dollar bonuses to all the execs and then declares bankruptcy in the mean time. So not only do you get shafted out of the time-and-a-half for your overtime, that's a cool $100.00 up in smoke, but on top of that you don't even get the straight-time pay for those twenty extra hours for as long as another year.
Have I got that right? I can hardly believe it myself. I mean I know those bastards are wildly greedy but I didn't suspect they were suicidal. But then I never suspected William Bennett was a crackhead either, so it just goes to show.
All I want for Christmas is for a bill like this to pass on a strict party-line vote. Not only would Republicans be booted out of power for a decade, but they'd be lucky to escape lynching! I'll bring the rope. Yeah!
Yours WDK - WKiernan at concentric.net