A bill that would have allowed California employers to offer employees a flexible workweek schedule has failed to pass the California Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment in a 5-2 party-line vote. The Committee rejected Assembly Bill 907 on the ground that the proposed law would "lead to employee intimidation and a breakdown of the eight-hour work day." The bill, which was opposed by Democrats and the California Labor Federation, would have allowed employees to voluntarily request a flexible schedule by which they could work a 10-hour workday during a 40-hour workweek without incurring overtime. California is one of only three states in the country that require employers to pay overtime after eight hours of work regardless of how many hours per week the employee may work. Because the bill has been defeated, California employees and employers will continue to be subject to the existing cumbersome process for adopting an alternative workweek schedule, which requires: (1) a proposal of the alternative workweek schedule; (2) a subsequent meeting to discuss the proposal; (3) a secret ballot vote in which two-thirds of the employees must approve it; (4) a filing of the voting results with the state; and (5) the implementation of the work schedule. The California Chamber of Commerce estimates that fewer than 1 percent of California employers have gone through the protracted and laborious process of adopting an alternative workweek schedule under existing law.
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