Help Make Overtime Voluntary

We the undersigned are directly affected by mandated overtime. With the major rise of inflation, the costs of living has not met this growth. Many organizations have and continue to cut costs where needed. The majority of these cuts are in letting people go and having all other employees work harder and longer to make up the difference.

Working people in such a manner has a direct negative impact on health, family, a rise in driving accidents, quality service to consumers, and an increase in alternative job searches. Almost one-third of the workforce regularly works more than the standard 40-hour week; one-fifth work more than 50 hours. Hourly manufacturing workers, the only group tracked by government statisticians, are putting in 25% more overtime than they were a decade ago. Americans now work more hours than workers in any other industrialized country.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), which regulates overtime, currently imposes no limits on overtime hours and does not keep employers from imposing penalties for declining overtime work. The FLSA only states that non-exempt workers must be paid time and a half for working overtime. This causes organizations to construct their own rules in dealing with employees, going against company policy, when it comes to mandating overtime.

This creates a need for limits on mandated overtime. When is a line to be drawn between employer and employee when work is cutting into one's personal life and time?
 
We urge you to take this matter into full consideration in making overtime voluntary. We greatly appreciate your time in reading this letter.