On the Agenda: the GOP's Anti-Worker Wishlist
December 16, 2008
Employee overtime and breaks has somehow become a hot topic in the fight to balance California's budget. We aren't quite sure how cutting employee wages and breaks will put the state back in the black again, and we still haven't seen the specifics of how the Republicans want to gut the 8-hour workday and the right to take meal and rest periods, but Assembly minority leader Mike Villines has provided his list of wants to the Sacramento Bee. Reportedly, these points, along with some relaxation of certain other business regulations, easing of environmental restrictions, and tax credits, form the basis of the GOP's demand for compromise in exchange for their support of higher taxes to solve the current budget crisis in California:
- Employee Schedule Flexibility
- Expanding Health Care Options for Employees (Health savings accounts)
- Reducing Unwarranted Litigation
- Overtime for high way earners
- Meal and Rest clarification
- Eliminate "needs test" to allow more apprenticeships
We have a pretty good idea what he means by "flexibility" and by "clarification." What counts as "unwarranted litigation" is still a bit of a mystery. However, to state the obvious: our personal view is that if this is the price for high taxes, we'd rather just suffer along and keep the existing, lower taxes.
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