GROTHMAN DEFENDS BILL TO ALLOW SEVEN-DAY WORKWEEK Lawmaker says criticism sparked by partisan politics By Jim Cryns - News Graphic Correspondent MADISON — State Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said he’s surprised by all the headlines concerning his proposal to allow Wisconsin employees to work a seven-day week, if they opt to do so. The legislation being proposed with state Sen. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, says an employee can state in writing that they voluntarily choose to work seven consecutive days without at least 24 consecutive hours of rest. National media outlets have picked up on the proposed legislation, but Grothman said it’s much ado about nothing. “Im surprised about all the attention,” Grothman said. “Sometimes they (media) pick out items and make them controversial.” Under current law, an employer in Wisconsin who owns a factory or mercantile establishment must allow every employee to take at least 24 consecutive hours of rest during every seven consecutive days of work. Grothman said companies should have the right to make their company more competitive, even if it means allowing their employees to work more. He said nobody is forcing people to work more hours. For Grothman, it’s a personal decision. “As an employee, at some point you may want to work seven days a week,” he said. “Employees are already working two or three jobs. Why can’t they work the extra hours in the same place?” Opponents of the proposed law say employers would likely use the law as a means of erasing the weekend and forcing employees to work longer hours without rest. Or create favoritism toward the employee who chooses to work more hours. Others are concerned this type of legislation will spill over into the public sector. Grothman said he has spoken with management at John Deere and they told him they have a shortage of welders and machinists. According to Grothman, the employee wouldn’t be risking or losing anything. “They’d be paid overtime as they receive today,” he said. “Prison guards aren’t making enough money. They’re entitled to make some more.” Grothman said he doesn’t view this as mavericklawmaking. “In some of the mercantile states, you already can work seven days a week. This is nothing new,” he said. He said throughout Wisconsin, families work on farms seven days a week and nobody has anything to say about that. “For whatever historical reasons, they exempted factories,” he said. “I thought if manage ment needs someone to work another day and the employee wants to work the extra days, who could object?” Concern about the legislation revolves around the potential changes in the dynamics of a business. The Huffington Post reported “he proposal is problematic because it may lead to employers forcing their staff to work overtime.” Joe Houpt, one of the owners of Suburban Harley-Davidson in Thiensville, said he wouldn’t be in favor of such legislation. “I didn’t know you couldn’t work seven days a week,” Houpt said. The legislation could have an effect on his business in various ways, he said. “Once one business starts to engage in that practice, everybody has to follow,” he said. Grothman said the controversy over the legislation is at least partially motivated by partisan politics. “I think the Democrats are trying to pretend we’re doing something radical,” he said. “I think Republicans receive a lot of attention because the Democrats are deathly afraid of our success in Wisconsin. That’s why they pay more attention to bills like this.” He said he “gets it” that there are some people who get apprehensive about this legislation but he doesn’t believe its warranted. He said there may be a bit of intrinsic bias toward Republican changes. “I think collectively, opponents don’t want Scott Walker to succeed,” he said.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 13:41:15 +0000
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