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“INTRODUCTION OF THE WORKER ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT: PROTECTING THE DOT-COM AMERICAN DREAM” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E498-E499 on April 5, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE WORKER ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT: PROTECTING THE
DOT-COM AMERICAN DREAM
______
HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, April 5, 2000
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, today I am honored to introduce the Worker Economic Opportunity Act, the House companion identical to S. 2323 introduced in the other body by Senators Mitch McConnell and Christopher Dodd.
This legislation, supported in the House and Senate, by Republicans and Democrats, with the involvement of the private sector and the Labor Department is being introduced for one reason: to protect the dot-com American Dream.
It will secure the opportunity for 65 million Americans, union and non-union, who are hourly and non-exempt employees to be awarded stock options and other equity arrangements, without fear that a ``piece of the rock'' will hurt their overtime pay or expose employers to bizarre and unintentional liability.
Recently, the Labor Department ruled that one part of one old, very important law--the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938--effectively and quite unintentionally endangered the New Economy practice of awarding stock options to line employees.
The writers of that law never imagined that anyone but the most senior executives could be awarded stock options. Under the FLSA, profits from stock options would have to be taken into account when computing overtime, an impossible task that endangered both stock options and overtime pay for hourly workers.
But today, workers demand them. And employers are offering them.
The Sunday San Diego Union-Tribune, the Washington Times and Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and most every major metropolitan daily newspaper employment section is packed with job after job that offers stock options, stock options, stock options. That's good for workers, and good for America, and part of the dot-com American Dream.
This bill is straightforward. It exempts these stock options and equity-sharing benefits of the New Economy from affecting people's rightful overtime pay yesterday, today and tomorrow.
It's supported by Republicans and Democrats, the House and Senate, and the Administration, and the private-sector Coalition to Promote Employee Stock Ownership representing over 100 associations and employers.
PUBLIC RECOGNITION
I want to recognize and thank several Members and other individuals whose work on this has been so important.
On the Republican side, these members include Representatives Steve Kuykendall, Tom Davis and Doug Ose, and Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Cass Ballenger, the gentleman from North Carolina, whose panel has jurisdiction over this issue.
On the Democratic side, these members include Representatives Jim Moran, Cal Dooley, Anna Eshoo, Tim Roemer, and many others.
The Senate has been a strong partner, side by side working together with us in the interests of American workers. I want to commend the Labor Department, including Secretary Alexis Herman, and Mr. Earl Gohl in the office of the Secretary, for their conscientious hard work. Lastly, I want to express my appreciation to the over 100 trade associations and employers who participated in the private-sector Coalition to Promote Employee Stock Ownership, led by the able personnel of the American Electronics Association.
I look forward to my friend Chairman Ballenger taking up this important legislation in committee. Given that it has strong bipartisan, bicameral, Administration and private sector support, that it will be moved promptly, sent to the President, and signed into law. Together, we will score a win for employees and employers, for high-
tech and low-tech, and for the American Dream.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Mr. Speaker, a great deal of information about this issue is available on the Internet. For the benefit of my colleagues, I wish to include in the Record several web links that provide helpful background information. These include:
The LPA (formerly Labor Policy Association) has several backgrounder papers, congressional testimony, and news releases available at http://
www.lpa.org.
The Employment Policy Foundation likewise has a background paper on this issue at http://www.epf.org.
The Association of Private Pension and Welfare Plans (APPWP) has background information on stock options at http://www.appwp.org/
stockoptions.html, and on stock ownership by nonexempt employees at http://www.appwp.org/stock__ownership__non-exempt.html.
The House Education and Workforce Committee, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections has posted the prepared testimony from its public hearing on this issue at http://www.house.gov/ed__workforce/hearings/
106th/wp/flsastockop3200/wl322000.htm.
I encourage Members who wish to cosponsor this bill to contact me as soon as possible.
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