Latest News
HomeAssociationsUS hotel industry welcomes Senate Bill to restore 40-hoour work week
Hospitality

US hotel industry welcomes Senate Bill to restore 40-hoour work week

This legislation would fix a flaw in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by restoring the traditional definition of full-time employment back to the 40-hours per week which the American workforce has lived by for decades.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.8 million-employee lodging industry, applauded Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) for introducing the bipartisan Forty Hours is Full Time Act. This legislation would fix a flaw in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by restoring the traditional definition of full-time employment back to the 40-hours per week which the American workforce has lived by for decades.

“We applaud Senators Collins and Donnelly for their leadership and willingness to work across the aisle to make this crucial change to the Affordable Care Act. Changing the definition of a full-time employee back to the traditional 40-hours is an important adjustment that affords hoteliers – many of whom are small businesses – and their employees the flexibility they need in today’s workforce,” said AH&LA president and CEO Katherine Lugar. “The existing law unnecessarily restricts the scheduling flexibility that so many employees value in the hotel industry, and could force employees to take additional jobs to make up for lost income. As of today, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both chambers of Congress. The House and the Senate should move quickly on legislation to restore the 40 hour work week, which is a change that benefits employees and employers alike.”

Representatives Todd Young (IN-9) and Daniel Lipinski (IL-3) have introduced counterpart legislation, H.R. 30 “Save American Workers” Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Hotel industry applauds House passage of Terrorism Risk Insurance Act
Also, AH&LA praised the U.S. House of Representatives for passing legislation H.R. 26, Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015. AH&LA, as the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.8 million-employee lodging industry, has been a strong advocate for this program.

“AH&LA applauds the House of Representatives for moving swiftly in the new Congress to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) which expired a week ago. TRIA is vital in ensuring that businesses operate with the certainty they need to invest capital and create new jobs, and today’s action is a step in the right direction towards restoring the program. The lodging sector continues to be a bright spot in the economy with more than four straight years of job growth, and the reauthorization of TRIA is crucial to continuing that growth. We urge the Senate to immediately follow suit and pass the reauthorization measure critical to providing the stability and certainty needed to continue development projects, invest in communities across the country and create jobs,” said Katherine Lugar.

As evidence that this legislation is critical to many sectors of the economy, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) joined other trade associations from a range of industries in sending a letter to urge Congress to take immediate action to reauthorize the program. A copy of that letter is attached to this press release.
 
AH&LA has been a persistent advocate of TRIA reauthorization. Yesterday, AH&LA sent a letter to every member of the House of Representatives, urging them to support this legislation. AH&LA has activated its membership with phone calls, emails and letters to members of Congress. Additionally, in November 2014, AH&LA, along with more than 80 other hotel industry groups including hotel brands, management companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), owners and state hotel associations, sent a letter calling on the House of Representatives to get back to work and pass the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) in the wake of the midterm elections.

First passed by Congress in 2002 in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, TRIA was created to provide a federal backstop for terrorism insurance coverage. Although both chambers of Congress passed bipartisan legislation to renew the program before the 113th Congress adjourned, a final version of the legislation was never passed and sent to the President’s desk for signature. As a result, the program expired in December.

Co-Founder & Chief Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | Website | + Posts

Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.

She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

28/03/2024
27/03/2024
26/03/2024
25/03/2024
22/03/2024