[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1505 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1505

    To amend the Portal to Portal Act of 1947 to limit the award of 
 liquidated damages to employees of States and political subdivisions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 7, 1995

 Mr. McKeon (for himself, Mr. Goodling, Mr. Cunningham, and Mr. Riggs) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                 Economic and Educational Opportunities

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Portal to Portal Act of 1947 to limit the award of 
 liquidated damages to employees of States and political subdivisions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that the imposition of liquidated damages under 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 on State and local governments for 
the nonpayment of minimum wages or overtime compensation can create a 
windfall for State and local government employees and an injustice to 
the taxpaying public if the nonpayment was a technical, insubstantial, 
or unavoidable violation of such Act.

SEC. 2. LIMIT ON LIQUIDATED DAMAGES.

    Section 11 of the Portal to Portal Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. 260) is 
amended by designating the text of the section as subsection (a) and by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) In any action commenced before, on, or after the date of the 
enactment of this subsection against a State or political subdivision 
of a State to recover unpaid minimum wages, overtime compensation, or 
liquidated damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the 
State or political subdivision shall not be liable to pay liquidated 
damages relating to such unpaid minimum wages or overtime 
compensation--
            ``(1) if the State or political subdivision shows to the 
        satisfaction of the court that--
                    ``(A) the minimum wages or overtime compensation 
                were paid by an instrument defined under the laws of 
                the State or political subdivision as negotiable, or
                    ``(B) the minimum wages or overtime compensation 
                were not paid because of insolvency of the State or 
                political subdivision, failure of the State or 
                political subdivision to enact a budget, or a natural 
                disaster or other condition beyond the control of the 
                State or political subdivision;
            ``(2) to any employee who cannot demonstrate to the 
        satisfaction of the court that the employee suffered any actual 
        harm as the result of the nonpayment of minimum wages or 
        overtime compensation.
For purposes of paragraph (2), the term `actual harm' shall be 
interpreted by the court to include only those circumstances where an 
employee has substantiated more than a minimal monetary loss that is 
separate from, but owing to, the nonpayment of minimum wages or 
overtime compensation.''.
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