[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                 H. R. 1

 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide compensatory 
               time for employees in the private sector.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

 Mr. Ballenger (for himself, Mr. Goodling, Mrs. Myrick, Ms. Dunn, Ms. 
 Molinari, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Shays, Mr. Stenholm, Ms. Pryce of Ohio, 
     Mr. Dooley of California, Mr. Upton, Mrs. Fowler, Mr. Fox of 
  Pennsylvania, Ms. Granger, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Petri, Mr. Fawell, Mr. 
 Riggs, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Burr of North Carolina, Mr. 
   Herger, Mr. Barrett of Nebraska, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. 
   Graham, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Miller of 
    Florida, Mr. Coburn, Mr. McCollum, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Bartlett of 
 Maryland, Mr. Goss, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. McIntosh, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. 
 Ney, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Boehner, and Mr. Smith of Texas) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                             the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide compensatory 
               time for employees in the private sector.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Working Families Flexibility Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. COMPENSATORY TIME.

    Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(r) Compensatory Time Off for Private Employees.--
            ``(1) General rule.--
                    ``(A) Compensatory time off.--An employee may 
                receive, in accordance with this subsection and in lieu 
                of monetary overtime compensation, compensatory time 
                off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for 
                each hour of employment for which overtime compensation 
                is required by this section.
                    ``(B) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, 
                the term `employee' does not include an employee of a 
                public agency.
            ``(2) Conditions.--An employer may provide compensatory 
        time to employees under paragraph (1)(A) only pursuant to the 
        following:
                    ``(A)(i) Such time may be provided only in 
                accordance with--
                            ``(I) applicable provisions of a collective 
                        bargaining agreement between the employer and 
                        the representative of the employees recognized 
                        as provided in section 9(a) of the National 
                        Labor Relations Act, or
                            ``(II) in the case of employees who are not 
                        represented by a labor organization recognized 
                        as provided in section 9(a) of the National 
                        Labor Relations Act, an agreement or 
                        understanding arrived at between the employer 
                        and employee before the performance of the work 
                        if such agreement or understanding was entered 
                        into knowingly and voluntarily by such 
                        employee, but only if such agreement or 
                        understanding was not a condition of 
                        employment.
                    ``(B) If such employee has affirmed, in a written 
                or otherwise verifiable statement that is made, kept, 
                and preserved in accordance with section 11(c), that 
                the employee has chosen to receive compensatory time in 
                lieu of overtime compensation.
                    ``(C) If the employee has not accrued compensatory 
                time in excess of the limit applicable to the employee 
                prescribed by paragraph (3).
            ``(3) Hour limit.--
                    ``(A) Maximum hours.--An employee may accrue not 
                more than 240 hours of compensatory time.
                    ``(B) Compensation date.--Not later than January 31 
                of each calendar year, the employee's employer shall 
                provide monetary compensation for any unused 
                compensatory time off accrued during the preceding 
                calendar year which was not used prior to December 31 
                of the preceding year at the rate prescribed by 
                paragraph (6). An employer may designate and 
                communicate to the employer's employees a 12-month 
                period other than the calendar year, in which case such 
                compensation shall be provided not later than 31 days 
                after the end of such 12-month period.
                    ``(C) Excess of 80 hours.--The employer may provide 
                monetary compensation for an employee's unused 
                compensatory time in excess of 80 hours at any time 
                after giving the employee at least 30 days notice. Such 
                compensation shall be provided at the rate prescribed 
                by paragraph (6).
                    ``(D) Policy.--An employer which has adopted a 
                policy offering compensatory time to employees may 
                discontinue such policy upon giving employees 30 days 
                notice.
                    ``(E) Written request.--An employee may withdraw an 
                agreement or understanding described in paragraph 
                (2)(A)(II) at any time. An employee may also request in 
                writing that monetary compensation be provided, at any 
                time, for all compensatory time accrued which has not 
                yet been used. Within 30 days of receiving the written 
                request, the employer shall provide the employee the 
                monetary compensation due in accordance with paragraph 
                (6).
            ``(4) Private employer actions.--An employer which provides 
        compensatory time under paragraph (1) to employees shall not 
        directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce or 
        attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any employee for the 
        purpose of--
                    ``(A) interfering with such employee's rights under 
                this subsection to request or not request compensatory 
                time off in lieu of payment of overtime compensation 
                for overtime hours; or
                    ``(B) requiring any employee to use such 
                compensatory time.
            ``(5) Termination of employment.--An employee who has 
        accrued compensatory time off authorized to be provided under 
        paragraph (1) shall, upon the voluntary or involuntary 
        termination of employment, be paid for the unused compensatory 
        time in accordance with paragraph (6).
            ``(6) Rate of compensation.--
                    ``(A) General rule.--If compensation is to be paid 
                to an employee for accrued compensatory time off, such 
                compensation shall be paid at a rate of compensation 
                not less than--
                            ``(i) the regular rate received by such 
                        employee when the compensatory time was earned, 
                        or
                            ``(ii) the final regular rate received by 
                        such employee,
                whichever is higher.
                    ``(B) Consideration of payment.--Any payment owed 
                to an employee under this subsection for unused 
                compensatory time shall be considered unpaid overtime 
                compensation.
            ``(7) Use of time.--An employee--
                    ``(A) who has accrued compensatory time off 
                authorized to be provided under paragraph (1), and
                    ``(B) who has requested the use of such 
                compensatory time,
        shall be permitted by the employee's employer to use such time 
        within a reasonable period after making the request if the use 
        of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations 
        of the employer.''
            ``(8) Definitions.--The terms `overtime compensation' and 
        `compensatory time' shall have the meanings given such terms by 
        subsection (o)(7).''.

SEC. 3. REMEDIES.

    Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``(b) Any employer'' and 
        inserting ``(b) Except as provided in subsection (f), any 
        employer''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) An employer which violates section 7(r)(3) shall be liable to 
the employee affected in the amount of the rate of compensation 
(determined in accordance with section 7(r)(6)(A)) for each hour of 
compensatory time accrued by the employee and in an additional equal 
amount as liquidated damages reduced by the amount of such rate of 
compensation for each hour of compensatory time used by such 
employee.''.

SEC. 4. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Labor shall revise the materials the Secretary 
provides, under regulations published at 29 C.F.R. 516.4, to employers 
for purposes of a notice explaining the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 to employees so that such notice reflects the amendments made to 
such Act by this Act.
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