Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) voted to restore the definition of a full-time workweek to 40 hours, and preserve opportunities for middle-class Americans to get the hours they need to make ends meet. The President's healthcare law changed the definition of "full-time employment" to 30 hours. This change will force many small businesses to reduce the hours of their previous "part-time" employees to under 30 per week. The Hoover Institution estimates that this change will put as many as 2.6 million Americans that make under $30,000 a year at risk of reduced hours.
The Save American Workers Act (H.R. 2575), of which Tipton is a co-sponsor, passed the House. The bill would restore the definition of the full-time workweek to the traditional 40 hours.
In a 2013 House Small Business Committee hearing, Tipton shared the story of Nancy Riemer, a Pizza Hut franchise owner from Colorado's 3rd Congressional District. The President's healthcare law has caused numerous issues for Riemer's restaurants and employees. According to Riemer, one of the biggest problems is the reduction of the "full-time" workweek from 40 hours to 30 hours. Because of this change, Riemer told Tipton that she wouldn't be able to hire anymore full-time employees, and eventually would need to reduce some of their formerly "part-time" employees' hours. Read more on Riemer's story HERE.
"There was a time in this country when we fought to limit the workweek to 40 hours, and now we are fighting to allow people to get to 40 hours in the workweek," said Tipton. "Small business owners like Nancy want to be able to hire employees and give them the hours they need. But with the ceaseless flow of new rules and regulations coming out of the federal government--many from the un-Affordable Care Act--the cost of doing business continues to increase, profit margins are shrinking, and restrictions are inhibiting growth. This has led to lost wages and hardships for millions of Americans, and will be compounded by the President's decreased workweek which hits the most vulnerable workers hardest. We should be encouraging growth and doing everything possible to create jobs and opportunities in this country. The Save American Workers Act will help do just that by restoring the 40 hour workweek to give working-class Americans the chance to put in the full week's work they want and need to make ends meet."