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Kevin Stitt blocks low-earning state employees from collecting overtime pay…

1:38 PM EDT on May 2, 2019

Once again, it looks like Kevin Stitt is taking this run a state like a business thing too seriously.

Yesterday, to the cheers and applause of greedy corporate executives from all over the world, he vetoed a a bipartisan bill that would have allowed state employees who earn less that $31,000 a year to collect overtime pay.

Here are the details via NewsOK.com:

Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have offered overtime pay to state employees making less than $31,000 annually...

House Bill 2465 would have required that employees making less than $31,000 receive overtime pay instead of compensation time for additional hours worked.

Sponsors Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City, and Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, sought to close a loophole in which state employees often receive compensation time for extra hours worked, but rarely have the chance to take it because of heavy workloads.

That sucks. When you make less than $31,000 a year, and are likely living paycheck to paycheck, overtime pay can make a huge difference in your quality of life. It can help you pay for luxuries like electricity, food and even running water. The only thing comp time does – if you're able to use it – is let you go home early on a Friday so you can realize how broke you are.

Why did Stitt decide to be a cheap dick and veto the bill? Here's you answer...

In striking the bill, Stitt called for a broader conversation on developing standardized pay policies for all state agencies...

“State employee pay and benefits, including overtime pay and compensation time, is critical to ensuring Oklahoma retains the best and brightest in state government. Unfortunately, there are not across-the-board policies for all state agencies and employees,” Stitt wrote in his veto letter.

That excuse is weaker than a degree from Oral Roberts!

I know I'm not a former mortgage banking CEO who was banned from doing business in multiple states, but I'm pretty sure you can close a loophole that cheats Oklahomans out of overtime pay while also having a broader conversation on developing standardized pay policies for all state agencies. In a business sense, that would be like saying you can't evict a widow until you have a broader conversation about getting more people to apply for predatory mortgage loans. One doesn't have to wait for the other.

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