[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2679 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2679

 To condition the minimum-wage-exempt status of organized camps under 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 on compliance with certain safety 
                   standards, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2001

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To condition the minimum-wage-exempt status of organized camps under 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 on compliance with certain safety 
                   standards, 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 ``Camp Safety Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR ORGANIZED CAMPS TO CONTINUE MINIMUM-WAGE-EXEMPT 
              STATUS.

    Section 13(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
213(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``(subject to paragraph 
        (18))'' after ``organized camp'';
            (2) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(18) an organized camp under paragraph (3), if such 
        camp--
                    ``(A) provides personal health, first aid and 
                medical services, health supervision, and maintenance 
                of camp-related health records for campers;
                    ``(B) adheres to applicable State and local 
                standards regarding--
                            ``(i) fire and building safety relating to 
                        the buildings and the occupants of buildings 
                        used by such camp; and
                            ``(ii) sanitation relating to camp 
                        personnel, buildings, and grounds;
                    ``(C) reports annually to the Secretary, on a date 
                prescribed by the Secretary, all incidents resulting in 
                death, injury, or illness, other than minor injuries 
                which require only first aid treatment and which do not 
                involve medical treatment, loss of consciousness, 
                restriction of activity or motion, or premature 
                termination of a camper's term at the camp;
                    ``(D) provides access to the Secretary for 
                inspection or investigation of such camp under section 
                3 of the Camp Safety Act of 2001;
                    ``(E)(i) conducts criminal background checks of all 
                camp employees for convictions under Federal and State 
                laws;
                    ``(ii) maintains a record of such checks for at 
                least 6 months after the date of termination of such an 
                employee's employment; and
                    ``(iii) makes such records available to the 
                Secretary upon the request of the Secretary; and
                    ``(F) maintains a ratio of at least 1 lifeguard for 
                every 30 camper swimmers.''.

SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT BY SECRETARY OF LABOR.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor shall monitor and enforce 
compliance of organized camps subject to section 13(a)(18) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(18)). In monitoring and 
enforcing such compliance, the Secretary shall--
            (1) implement a system for the routine reporting of 
        fatalities and serious injuries or illnesses;
            (2) implement procedures for conducting inspection and 
        verifying information provided to the Secretary by such camps;
            (3) investigate complaints received regarding such camps;
            (4) require appropriate training, including knowledge of 
        outdoor camping, for camp inspectors; and
            (5) compile statistics based on the information in the 
        reports required to be submitted by such camps under section 
        13(a)(18)(C) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(18)(C)); and
            (6) based at least in part on the statistics compiled under 
        subparagraph (C), determine the areas in which additional 
        safety standards are necessary and prescribe appropriate 
        regulations.
    (b) Investigative Authority.--In monitoring and enforcing 
compliance under subsection (a), the Secretary of Labor may--
            (1) enter and inspect such a camp and its records, question 
        the employees of such camp, and investigate facts, conditions, 
        practices, or other matters, to the extent the Secretary deems 
        necessary or appropriate; and
            (2) administer oaths and examine witnesses under oath, 
        issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses and 
        other relevant records.

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

    (a) Equal or Greater Protection Under State Law.--Section 13(a)(18) 
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(18)) preempts 
a State's laws regarding camp safety, unless the Secretary of Labor 
determines that such State's laws provide substantially the same, or 
greater, protection for campers as such section, but such State's laws 
are only preempted to the extent that the Secretary determines that 
they provide lesser protection for campers than such section.
    (b) Judicial Review of Determination by Secretary.--A State 
aggrieved by a determination under subsection (a) may bring an action 
in an appropriate United States district court for review of such 
determination.
    (c) Effect of Compliance With Equivalent State Law.--A person that 
complies with a State law which the Secretary of Labor has determined 
under subsection (a) provides substantially the same, or greater, 
protection for campers as section 13(a)(18) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(18)) shall be deemed to have complied 
with the requirements of such section.
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