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[AnotherNils]

LOL I look just fine in short shorts, thank you very much. It's just annoying to have to shave your legs like every other day for the summer.

Anyway, what does PoliGAF think of this Republican proposal? I admit, I like the idea at face-value.

It depends. For every hour of overtime, do I get an hour and half of compensatory time, or only an hour. If its the latter, they're already screwing me, and that's before the taking the time "at their discretion."

Also, what happens if I accrue more than four weeks time? Do I get paid time and a half again?

 

[The Librarian]

What about a minimum number of vacation days and a minimum number of hours for paid over time even with the choice?

 

[FLEABttn]

Anyway, what does PoliGAF think of this Republican proposal? I admit, I like the idea at face-value.

My concern is that, while it says employers can't coerce the employee to take comp time instead of cash, my thought is that it's not actually going to play out that way. That combined with the tendency Ameericans have to not take the PTO they already have, either from being overworked to the point where recovering from a vacation is harder than simply not taking a vacation or the fear that many have that taking time off looks bad, it sounds like free work to me.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Just referencing the old commercial, Dax. Like I said, above a certain age I'm sure it's ingrained in most people.

Re: that proposal-- I'm confused on the scope. We do stuff like this already by exception, so what's the change in law? Allowing employers to *not* pay and give days? That seems like it puts the burden on the employee more than anything.

 

[The Librarian]

Just referencing the old commercial, Dax. Like I said, above a certain age I'm sure it's ingrained in most people.

I knew you were.

 

[User 406]

PTO is a lie. Employees currently have no leverage at all and even taking time off you legitimately earned could put you at risk of being replaced. Lots of people won't even take the vacation time they've already got because of this fear, so adding more on top of that is just ensuring they end up getting even less for their work. And the Republicans understand this, which is why they're proposing the idea. Do not want.

Also, consider our current state of affairs. Do we really want businesses to start pushing more overtime on already overworked full time employees because they have a better chance of not paying for it, also allowing them to cut more hours for others?

 

[el retorno]

Jenifer Rubin ripping on heritage?

I can't live in a world where I agree with her...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ers-peddling-snake-oil-on-immigration-reform/

 

[Tamanon]

LOL I look just fine in short shorts, thank you very much. It's just annoying to have to shave your legs like every other day for the summer.

Anyway, what does PoliGAF think of this Republican proposal? I admit, I like the idea at face-value.

It's clearly beneficial to businesses, but it does have some merits and if written correctly can present the choice to the employee themselves. I wouldn't mind it. As long as the choice is clearly on the employee's side only, there's nothing wrong with it.

Oh, one unintended consequence that might actually take place. Companies might lower the amount of actual vacation they give their employees, instead relying on them to work more for it.

 

[cooljeanius]

Jenifer Rubin ripping on heritage?

I can't live in a world where I agree with her...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ers-peddling-snake-oil-on-immigration-reform/

- Rubin is a Bush person
- Bush was for immigration reform
- Supporting immigration reform involves ripping on Heritage here
- Thus, Rubin rips on Heritage

 

[B-Dubs]

It's clearly beneficial to businesses, but it does have some merits and if written correctly can present the choice to the employee themselves. I wouldn't mind it. As long as the choice is clearly on the employee's side only, there's nothing wrong with it.

Oh, one unintended consequence that might actually take place. Companies might lower the amount of actual vacation they give their employees, instead relying on them to work more for it.

I doubt that it will be. This is just going to be something that sounds good that turns into employees getting reamed by management.

 

[Hitokage]

Americans working 60 hours in a normal week must now work even more for their time off?

 

[ClassyPenguin]

'Republican' and 'pro-worker'.....that's a great joke.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Americans working 60 hours in a normal week must now work even more for their time off?

No?

It's not saying anything remotely like that.

 

[Gotchaye]

You'd want to do something to require that people either use all of their PTO or get compensated for any remaining at year's end. Maybe just say that people can't amass more than 4 weeks, and any time someone should get PTO and is already at the limit or any time people would otherwise lose PTO (if some is lost at the end of each year, for example), then the employer has to compensate the employee with time-and-a-half (or maybe more, to be sure they don't just do this to delay payment) for all PTO lost.

 

[Mike M]

I regularly max out my PTO, I'm all for getting compensated for the additional hours I'm accumulating just getting tossed in the waste in.

 

[el retorno]

That proposal is encouraging workers to work for free. By taking time off (doubt its payed) those overtime hours become free labor don't they?

The employer technically loses nothing by allowing you time off besides hypothetical productivity. And everybody knows they'll force you to "catch up" on the work you missed.

Its bullshit, if you work you need to be paid for it. Simple as that, and giving someone time off isn't pay.

 

[Tamanon]

That proposal is encouraging workers to work for free. By taking time off (doubt its payed) those overtime hours become free labor don't they?

The employer technically loses nothing by allowing you time off besides hypothetical productivity. And everybody knows they'll force you to "catch up" on the work you missed.

The time off would be paid.

 

[el retorno]

The time off would be paid.

but not time and a half I'm guessing?

 

[Tamanon]

but not time and a half I'm guessing?

Right.

 

[The Librarian]

What is PTO?

 

[el retorno]

What is PTO?

Paid time off

 

[Dan]

It's a nice theory, but companies would just find ways to pressure employees to never cash in those days off. It's already often the case in situations where employees are given a set number of vacation days.

 

[B-Dubs]

PTO is at normal rates, overtime is time-and-a-half or double. The point of the proposal is to make overtime cheaper for businesses.

I also imagine businesses could bully their employees into not taking the time off. As it is people don't use their time off, my aunt has about three or four months worth of vacation if she would be bothered to take it. It's reached a point where they need her to take it, but can't afford to let her take it. It's asinine.

 

[Cameron122]

Good afternoon, PoliGaf.

 

[B-Dubs]

Looks like the background check bill may have some new life. Reid says they've got some no votes converted into yes.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told the Las Vegas Review Journal over the weekend that the chief sponsor of background checks believes he has a few more votes for the legislation, which failed to pass last month.

"Joe Manchin called me yesterday. He thinks he has a couple more votes," Reid told the Review Journal, as seen in a video clip provided to the Huffington Post.

Apparently this would put them at 57. At that point, a few promises and some pressure and this could get done. Still no faith in Reid though.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Welp, pack it in kids:

Mike Huckabee on Monday predicted that President Barack Obama won’t finish out his second term in light of the “cover-up” of the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and the former Arkansas governor called the affair “more serious than Watergate.”
“I believe that before it’s all over, this president will not fill out his full term. I know that puts me on a limb,” the former Arkansas governor said on “The Mike Huckabee Show.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/...ve-obama-from-office-90964.html#ixzz2SXaIy1Hp

*edited for Dax

 

[The Librarian]

Welp, pack it in boys:

So I guess that means I can't give up?

 

[Tamanon]

Welp, pack it in boys:



http://www.politico.com/story/2013/...ve-obama-from-office-90964.html#ixzz2SXaIy1Hp

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell cover-up they keep talking about.

 

[RustyNails]

Looks like the background check bill may have some new life. Reid says they've got some no votes converted into yes.



Apparently this would put them at 57. At that point, a few promises and some pressure and this could get done. Still no faith in Reid though.

Even if it did, it will be strangled to death in the House by teaparty idiots.

 

[Fenderputty]

You'd want to do something to require that people either use all of their PTO or get compensated for any remaining at year's end. Maybe just say that people can't amass more than 4 weeks, and any time someone should get PTO and is already at the limit or any time people would otherwise lose PTO (if some is lost at the end of each year, for example), then the employer has to compensate the employee with time-and-a-half (or maybe more, to be sure they don't just do this to delay payment) for all PTO lost.

This is what my company does. We don't accrue PTO at all. We can only roll over a couple days and only use those in the first months of the following year. Our sick days were changed to "wellness days" as well. I get 4 of those that don't roll over. We can use a "wellness" day for anything which is great. No more feeling guilty because my head wasn't in it that day regardless of my health. We are encouraged to take the time off we've been given.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Looks like the background check bill may have some new life. Reid says they've got some no votes converted into yes.

Apparently this would put them at 57. At that point, a few promises and some pressure and this could get done. Still no faith in Reid though.

It'd be disgraceful if Baucus voted no again. He hadn't announced his retirement at the time of the original vote, so perhaps he hadn't made up his mind yet and wanted to play it safe (when asked about the vote, he only said "Montana"). But if he still insists on being an asshole even when he doesn't have to worry about re-election, or when Tester also voted yes on background checks, that's pretty telling about his character.

I bet they could win over Heitkamp, but I think Begich and Pryor are true believers.

As for the three Republicans... Maybe Heller, Ayotte, and Flake?

Even if it did, it will be strangled to death in the House by teaparty idiots.

At least it puts the onus on the House to pass something with 90% support by the American people. If a Democratic majority in the Senate can't pass it, it just feeds the notion that Congress is inherently dysfunctional and both parties are wrong, or whatever Politico is writing about.

 

[TacticalFox88]

Looks like the background check bill may have some new life. Reid says they've got some no votes converted into yes.



Apparently this would put them at 57. At that point, a few promises and some pressure and this could get done. Still no faith in Reid though.

THere's no point. It'd die in the house anyhow.

Plus, I'd rather we do the legislation right.

Without these idiot Repbulicans in office. Hopefully after 2014

 

[GaimeGuy]

What about a minimum number of vacation days and a minimum number of hours for paid over time even with the choice?

You're such an entitled brat. BOOTSTRAPS, DAX! BOOTSTRAPS!

 

[The Librarian]

You're such an entitled brat. BOOTSTRAPS, DAX! BOOTSTRAPS!

We went over this! I have boobstraps, not bootstraps.

 

[B-Dubs]

Even if it did, it will be strangled to death in the House by teaparty idiots.

True, but it would at least put some pressure on them. Instead of the narrative being "Obama can't pass gun legislation" it'll becomes "House stalls guns legislation". I wouldn't put it past Boehner to break the Hastert rule again if he faced enough pressure.

We went over this! I have boobstraps, not bootstraps.

But can you pull yourself up by them?

 

[Tamanon]

We went over this! I have boobstraps, not bootstraps.

You can have both.

 

[Black Mamba]

The book, “The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies” (Simon & Schuster, $30), which is set to come out June 4, includes a chapter about Fox’s influence on the campaign. Mr. Alter homes in on the channel’s extensive coverage of the Obama administration’s handling of the attacks on a United States diplomatic mission and C.I.A. outpost in Benghazi, Libya.

“Roger Ailes covered the Benghazi story as if it were Watergate just before Nixon’s resignation, with almost wall-to-wall coverage,” Mr. Alter writes before describing Mr. Rivera as the only Fox anchor who was “allowed to offer a dissenting view.”

Mr. Rivera did so on the conservative morning show “Fox & Friends” on Nov. 2, the Friday before Election Day. As the three hosts criticized the administration for failing to save the ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans who died in Benghazi, Mr. Rivera protested. He accused the co-host Eric Bolling of lying, calling him “a politician trying to make a political point.”

“After the argument continued for several minutes, Ailes called the control room and told the producers to cut Rivera’s mic,” Mr. Alter writes.

A spokeswoman for Fox News did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/b...behind-the-scenes-at-fox.html?ref=media&_r=2&

But guys, MSNBC and Fox news are the same from opposite ends!

 

[Link]

Looks like the background check bill may have some new life. Reid says they've got some no votes converted into yes.


Apparently this would put them at 57. At that point, a few promises and some pressure and this could get done. Still no faith in Reid though.

And what are they giving up or putting in to get those votes? I'd have to see the new bill to decide if this is good news. Plus Harry Reid.

Welp, pack it in kids:



http://www.politico.com/story/2013/...ve-obama-from-office-90964.html#ixzz2SXaIy1Hp

*edited for Dax

And when it turns out he's wrong (and he will be), he won't have to answer to anybody. Zero accountability with these assholes.

 

[Aaron Strife]

And what are they giving up or putting in to get those votes? I'd have to see the new bill to decide if this is good news. Plus Harry Reid.

It's the classic "Your approval ratings are lower than Satan" gambit

 

[B-Dubs]

It's the classic "Your approval ratings are lower than Satan" gambit

Yup, Ayotte has been taking it up the ass since her vote. No way she votes the same way if it comes back up, she'd be guaranteed to loose reelection.

 

[Wilsongt]

Welp, pack it in kids:



http://www.politico.com/story/2013/...ve-obama-from-office-90964.html#ixzz2SXaIy1Hp

*edited for Dax

BENGHAZIBENGHAZIBENGHAZIBENGHAZIBENGHAZI

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

And when it turns out he's wrong (and he will be), he won't have to answer to anybody. Zero accountability with these assholes.

What facts exactly haev yet to come to light?

 

[bananas]

And what are they giving up or putting in to get those votes? I'd have to see the new bill to decide if this is good news. Plus Harry Reid.

They're showing them their approval ratings, and asking "So you wanna try this one more time?"

 

[speculawyer]

Cross posting from the AK47 thread

How was he able to attain an AK?

Uh . . . he went to the store and bought one? As long as it is not full-auto, it is legal.

 

[speculawyer]

LOL I look just fine in short shorts, thank you very much. It's just annoying to have to shave your legs like every other day for the summer.

Anyway, what does PoliGAF think of this Republican proposal? I admit, I like the idea at face-value.

Tell them that this is essentially what the French do and watch their heads explode.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/35-hour_workweek

The 35-hour working week is a measure adopted first in France, in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government. It was pushed by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry.
The previous legal duration of the working week was 39 hours, which had been established by François Mitterrand, also a member of the Socialist Party. The 35-hour working week was in the Socialist Party's 1981 electoral program, titled 110 Propositions for France.
The 35 hours was the legal standard limit, after which further working time was to be considered overtime.

The main stated objectives of the law were twofold:
To reduce unemployment and yield a better division of labor, in a context where some people work long hours while some others are unemployed. A 10.2% decrease in the hours extracted from each worker would, theoretically, require firms to hire correspondingly more workers, a remedy for unemployment.

 

[Link]

It's the classic "Your approval ratings are lower than Satan" gambit

They're showing them their approval ratings, and asking "So you wanna try this one more time?"

That works for me, then. I think this whole thing backfired on Republicans way more than they thought. They need realize that the NRA doesn't have to answer to anyone, unlike themselves. They can't just let the NRA dictate how they vote.

What facts exactly haev yet to come to light?

Obama is not getting impeached for Benghazi. Actually saying he will be is ridiculous, but it's not like anyone is going to hold it against Huckabee when it doesn't happen.

EDIT - Ah, you're referring to what he said in the story. There's nothing being withheld outside of maybe some CIA intelligence. None of which is going to reveal any kind of coverup.

 

[User 406]

We really do need to move to a shorter work week, both productivity and unemployment being high makes it an ideal adjustment.

But like Cyan said, this proposal is a backhanded way to lengthen working hours while avoiding overtime costs.

 

[bonercop]

i don't even

 

[Carpe Libertatem]

Even if it did, it will be strangled to death in the House by teaparty idiots.

Good, let's get those no votes visible and ready for 2014

 

[GhaleonEB]

Probably this as well, yes, but my main concern would be overtime being paid at standard rates. It's a major salvo against the 40-hour work week.

There's a clear imbalance in the decision making power, as described in the TPM article:

The bill would let an employee decide to cash out comp time at any time, and forbids employers from coercing workers to take comp time instead of cash.

Republicans and business groups have tried to pass the plan in some form since the 1990s.

Democrats say the bill provides no guarantee that workers would be able to take the time off when they want. The bill gives employers discretion over whether to grant a specific request to use comp time. Opponents also complain that banking leave time essentially gives employers an interest-free loan from workers.

So employees can decide whether to take time and a half vs. banking vacation time.

But employers can dictate whether they take that time off. You can imagine the situations that would create: You work a long time, bank vacation hours, request that time off, and get told that you can draw it down 1-2 hours per day. Or maybe take a day or two off now and then. Unless there are details unreported in the TPM article (and I admit I have not read any more than the TPM article), the employer has a great deal of leverage on how to let employees burn off their accrued comp time.

Also not said is whether that comp time expires at any point, and if so whether employers would then be foreced to pay back the time and a half. I would assume so but this is a GOP proposal...