A message from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

The following e-mail was received at Department Headquarters from Senator Hillary Clinton on March 4, 2004.

March 2, 2004

Department Headquarters
Disabled American Veterans
Dept. of New York Inc.
200 Atlantic Avenue
Lynbrook, New York 11563

Dear Department:

I want you to know that I have serious concerns regarding the effect the new overtime rules proposed by the Administration may have on veterans. In order to protect military veterans, I have joined with several of my Senate colleagues to demand that the Administration clarify its proposed new rules on overtime pay. Under the proposal, employers could choose to deny overtime pay to certain veterans based on the kind of training they received while serving their country. As a result, at least 8 million hard- working Americans could be denied overtime pay.

Our nation's veterans sacrificed for their country by serving and they should be rewarded for that sacrifice. These proposed rules set up a system that could penalize veterans for their service. To even suggest that the price of serving your country is a reduction in the amount of money you can earn once you leave the military is unconscionable.

Under the Administration's proposal, veterans who received certain kinds of training while in the armed forces and who are presently employed in many scientific, engineering, medical and technical fields could be denied overtime pay because of that military training. Although the Administration claims that this is not its purpose, some employers have signaled their intent to use the proposed rules to deny overtime pay to veterans.

Also signing the letter are Senators Tom Daschle, Bob Graham, John Kerry, Barbara Mikulski, Patty Murray, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson and Jay Rockefeller. A copy of the Senators' letter to Secretary Chao is below:

March 1, 2004

Dear Madam Secretary:

We do not support efforts to deny overtime pay to any employee, but we write today to call attention to an issue that may have been overlooked in earlier discussions. Language included in the department's proposed new regulations could unfairly deny veterans overtime pay as a result of their military training.

As drafted, the regulation would expand the types of experience and education that employers may use when classifying workers as professionals, and therefore exempt from requirements that the employers pay overtime. The new language specifically includes training in the armed forces as qualifying criteria to be deemed a professional. In spite of the fact that the Department of Labor has stated this language merely clarifies existing law, this new language has created confusion for employers and workers.

While you have testified it was not the Administration's desire to affect veterans' pay, certain employers have already commented on their intent to use the proposed rule to deny overtime pay to veterans who work for them. This is unacceptable. We urge you to address this immediately to make certain that veterans will not lose overtime pay.

Service members should not be discouraged from seeking training for fear that it will disadvantage them once they leave the military. More importantly, we cannot send a message to the men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan that their government has eroded the paychecks they'll receive when they return to the civilian workforce.

Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton

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