CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- There could be a new way to pay employees who work for the private sector.  Members of the House have passed a bill to change overtime pay.  The law would give employees the option to either get overtime pay or comp time.

Republican Congressman Robert Pittenger favors the bill and thinks this will empower families to take time off when needed – time that will best fit their schedule.

“You may have young kids at home,” Pittenger said. “Or go to a soccer game and you may need to go to the dentist or you have aging parents. This is a good bill for hard working American families. It gives those choices back to the families and employees.”

While Pittenger thinks this will help families, some hourly workers are not so sure.

“I don’t care for it,” Hourly worker Ida Keir said. “I think employees ought to be paid what they deserve, but then if they want to take time off, they need to take time off, hopefully they will be able to do it.”

The proposed law states employers will ultimately decide if workers can take the time off they have saved up for. Democrats are against this bill.  They believe this will cheat workers and claim it won’t protect them.

President Barack Obama has said he would veto the bill if it passes the Senate.

Pittenger has his thoughts about why Democrats oppose the bill.

“They’re being pressured by Unions,” Pittenger said. “Unions want to control everything.”

Representatives at the Employers Association think this is a good plan.  They claim this would be good for construction crews who work long hours in the summer and can take time off in the winter when business is slow.

The association also says this could be challenging for companies’ human resources department.  They would have to rearrange their systems so they can keep a close eye on who is choosing overtime and who is choosing to take comp time.

Experts say they doubt this bill will pass in the Senate.

Copyright 2013 WBTV. All rights reserved.

Submitted by Melissa Hankins

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013, 7:34pm

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- You’re next online purchase could cost you more than you’re used to.

A bill making its way through the Senate will make tax free shopping on the Internet a thing of the past, if that bill continues to receive the same swell of support it got Monday, when the Senate voted 74 to 20 to take up the bill.

The National Retail Federation is also standing behind the change. The group says it would even the playing field between brick and mortar stores and their online competition.

The proposal would require Internet retailers to tax you, and the sales tax would be sent to the state where a shopper lives.

But opponents say states are being greedy, and that the bill is just another way for lawmakers to raise your taxes.

Currently, states can only require online stores to collect sales taxes if the store has a physical presence in the state.

Copyright 2013 WBTV. All rights reserved.

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- Wells Fargo has announced record profits for the 1st quarter of 2013. The bank is also boosting its ATMs.

“This ATM knows your habits and your features and what you do here,” says Wells Fargo Area President Leigha Smith. She introduced us today to the bank’s high tech new ATMs. She says they’re more like a personal assistant than the old money machine we’re used to.

“This get-to-know you better ATM really knows our customers,” she says. “They get cash, that’s the first thing that comes up. If they typically deposit checks or cash that’s the first item that comes up, deposit cash.”

Sometimes personal greetings even come up.

“That was a little shocking to me,” says Wells customer Joe Marshall. “On my birthday, it said ‘Happy Birthday.’ And it started the week of my birthday, and I was like how do they know that? But it showed up and I appreciate that.”

Something else you may appreciate – the ATM’s cash tracker. If you’re always pulling out five bucks here, ten bucks there, these ATMS will make sure you’re not blowing your budget.

“You can set boundaries of how much cash you would like to withdraw from your account on a monthly basis,” Marshall says.

And that’s not all you can do.

“You can transfer money back and forth to your checking and savings, make a payment to your car loan, your credit card. You can buy stamps here.”

Copyright 2013 WBTV. All rights reserved.