Should private sector employers be allowed to use comp time to meet their overtime pay obligations?

Compensation

Discussion Questions: select any THREE questions from the list below (preferably at least one from each chapter) and post your response in the discussion forum.

Should private sector employers be allowed to use comp time to meet their overtime pay obligations? What are the potential benefits? Problems? (Ch 12) Does the Equal Pay Act go far enough in prohibiting pay discrimination? If not, should courts rethink their rejection of the theory of comparable worth? (Ch 12) There are many cases of serious wage and hour violations by employers, particularly in the retail sector. These cases feature employers failing to provide breaks, pressuring workers to underreport hours of work, requiring that work be performed both before and after shifts, and crudest of all, “shaving time.” The latter refers to the practice of simply deleting work hours from computerized payroll records. Is this any different from stealing? Is there any justification for such acts? (Ch 12) Is the broad preemption language of ERISA necessary? Does preemption unduly constrain the ability of employees to hold their employer accountable for the manner in which benefit plans are administered? (Ch 13) Does the U.S. approach to providing for health insurance and retirement income—with its heavy reliance on employer-provided benefits—still make sense? What are the alternatives? (Ch 13) What is your opinion of labor unions in general? What is the basis of your opinions and beliefs about unions (first-hand experience, second-hand observations of friends/family members with union experience, etc.)? To what extent might union affiliation/status affect your decision to work in a particular industry or for a particular employer? Are unions as necessary today as at various points in our nation’s history? Why or why not? (Ch 14) Is it fair that employers can permanently replace economic strikers? Does the right to strike mean much if striking employees are subject to permanent replacement? (Ch 14) What, if anything, should be done to revitalize the National Labor Relations Act and the institution of collective bargaining? Should the Employee Free Choice Act be enacted? (Ch 14)