Save American Workers Act
By Bonnie Bochniak
Vice President, Government Relations
MBPA/MFBA
March 11, 2014 – This past January 28, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. a very important piece of legislation, the “Save American Workers Act” (H.R. 2575), was heard in front of one of the most influential committees, Ways and Means, chaired by Michigan’s Congressman Dave Camp. The “Save American Workers Act” legislation redefines a regular work week back to the traditional 40 hours, instead of the new and current 30 hour work week due to changes imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Our Association knows the importance of reverting back to the standard work week, as it will save people their jobs and maintain their livelihood. We have heard firsthand the issues employers and employees have with adhering and changing from the historic 40 hour work week, to the 30 hour ACA compliant work week. The Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA) submitted this letter in support of this legislation during the hearing. The letter is posted below.
January 23, 2014
The Honorable Dave Camp
Chairman of Ways and Means Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Camp:
The Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA) boasts a statewide sphere of influence that touches one out of every three businesses across the great state of Michigan. At MBPA we pride ourselves in proactively engaging with our members and keeping abreast of all policy that will be headed their way that positively or negatively affects their bottom line and livelihood. Which is why we are in full support of H.R. 2575 introduced by Representative Todd Young, the “Save American Workers Act,” which would redefine “full-time employment” in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to be consistent with the established 40-hour work week.
Currently in the new federal healthcare law, businesses with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) are mandated to offer affordable healthcare coverage to all its employees. If they do not offer healthcare to all their employees plus their dependents, the employer could possibly be responsible to pay substantial penalties. In addition to these penalties, an employer must now, per the PPACA, classify a full-time employee as working 30 hours per week averaged over the course of a month. This historic change from the traditional 40 hour work week to the 30 hour work week has given the business community no other choice than to restructure their workforce and reduce employees’ hours to save them from closing their front doors.
If America and its businesses can revert back to the traditional 40 hour work week to define a full-time employee, it would do a great service to the already struggling businesses as they try to acclimate to the other many changes brought upon them by the PPACA. In Michigan, we are slowly recovering from a weak economy, and would like nothing more than to shift our focus to growing our businesses, and employing more workers.
We look forward to continuing this discussion with our Michigan delegation and committee members. Please feel free to contact us at any time with questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Kluge, CEO
Michigan Business and Professional Association
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