[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 656 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 656

   To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exclude from the 
   definition of employee firefighters and rescue squad workers who 
  perform volunteer services and to prevent employers from requiring 
   employees who are firefighters or rescue squad workers to perform 
   volunteer services, and to allow an employer not to pay overtime 
   compensation to a firefighter or rescue squad worker who performs 
      volunteer services for the employer, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 25, 1997

Mr. Warner (for himself, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Helms, 
 Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Roth, and Mr. Sessions) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and 
                            Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exclude from the 
   definition of employee firefighters and rescue squad workers who 
  perform volunteer services and to prevent employers from requiring 
   employees who are firefighters or rescue squad workers to perform 
   volunteer services, and to allow an employer not to pay overtime 
   compensation to a firefighter or rescue squad worker who performs 
      volunteer services for the employer, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Volunteer Firefighter and Rescue 
Squad Worker Act''.

SEC. 2. FIREFIGHTER AND RESCUE SQUAD SERVICES.

    Section 3(e)(4) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
203(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(C) The term `employee' does not include a firefighter or a 
member of a rescue squad during the period in which the firefighter or 
rescue squad member volunteers to perform firefighting or rescue squad 
services at a location where the firefighter or member is not then or 
regularly employed.''.

SEC. 3. WAIVER OF OVERTIME COMPENSATION.

    The employer of a firefighter or member of a rescue squad shall not 
be required to pay the firefighter or member overtime compensation 
under section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) 
for a period during which the firefighter or member--
            (1) volunteered to perform services for the employer; and
            (2) signed a legally binding waiver of such compensation.

SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES.

    (a) Overtime Compensation Requirement.--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) No employer may require (directly or indirectly) an employee 
who is a firefighter or member of a rescue squad to volunteer the 
employee's firefighting or rescue squad services during any period in 
which the employee would be entitled to receive compensation for 
overtime employment under subsection (a).''.
    (b) Prohibition Against Coercion.--
            (1) In general.--An employer shall not directly or 
        indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to 
        intimidate, threaten, or coerce, an employee who is a 
        firefighter or member of a rescue squad for the purpose of 
        requiring the employee to volunteer the employee's firefighting 
        or rescue squad services.
            (2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``intimidate, 
        threaten, or coerce'' includes promising to confer or 
        conferring any benefit (such as appointment, promotion, or 
        compensation) or effecting or threatening to effect any 
        reprisal (such as deprivation of appointment, promotion, or 
        compensation).
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