A state house committee this week approved a bill that would eliminate Kentucky workers’ rights to lunch and rest breaks, despite obfuscation by lawmakers over what the bill would do. Do Southern Republicans ever look out for workers? I haven't seen it. Via the Courier-Journal:
Kentucky law currently requires employers to give workers an unpaid lunch break in the middle of their shift. It also requires paid 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours worked, as well as time-and-a-half overtime pay on the seventh day of work in a row.
If enacted, House Bill 500, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, would repeal those requirements.
[...] Federal law does not require employers to offer lunch or rest breaks, and Pratt said the purpose of his bill is to “modernize” Kentucky labor law to match the federal law.
Pratt said the difference between the state and federal labor law creates “confusion” for Kentucky employers.
Yeah, that's what he's so concerned about: "Confusion."
Pratt says employers can still provide lunch breaks and rest periods if they want to, and his own landscaping company will continue to offer those breaks. (Let's see how long that lasts if this bill passes.)
Coincidentally, Pratt is also the sponsor of a bill designed to weaken the state's child labor laws! Because people might get confused, I guess.
Of course, there are some other employer goodies packed into this bill. For instance, the bill would change the statute of limitations for bringing employment lawsuits from five to three years. That means employers who underpay their employees would have to pay back lost wages for only three years instead of five.
When people would tell me, "I don't understand what Republicans are doing, I used to reply, "Cheap, disposable labor with no legal protections. Once you understand that, everything they do starts to make sense."
