Now it looks like Secretary Alexis M. Herman will join a bipartisan group from the House and Senate that would like to amend Section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, so employee stock option profits would not have to be included in overtime calculations.

As proposed the legislation would include certain criteria, such as minimum vesting periods, as well as a retroactive feature. The latter would protect employers from back overtime liabilities.

A popular issue

Labor Secretary Herman assured members of Congress recently that she wants to resolve this in a "way that is advantageous to American workers." In so doing she is backing a popular horse, as the National Center for Employee Ownership claims that somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 million workers are eligible for some form of stock options.