Striking a Blow for Work/Life Balance?

Atlanta attorney Ted Boehm was quoted on Human Resource Executive Online in the article “Striking a Blow for Work/Life Balance?” The House's recent vote to pass the Working Families Flexibility Act has rekindled the political debate around comp time versus overtime for private-sector employees.

Ted said that if the legislation becomes law it would present challenges that HR leaders should make themselves aware of. One of the concerns for employers relates to employees' actual usage of comp time.

"To some degree, conflict over requests to use accrued comp time may be unavoidable.  An employee would be entitled to use comp time 'within a reasonable period' after requesting it, unless this would unduly disrupt the employer's operations."

He noted that while the bill does not make clear what constitutes a "reasonable period," it is "easy to envision an employee reacting negatively if and when a request is denied on either ground."