[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3070 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3070

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to ensure the protection 
    of employees in travelling sales crews, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 9, 2001

 Mr. Petri (for himself and Mr. Lantos) 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 ensure the protection 
    of employees in travelling sales crews, 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 ``Travelling Sales Crew Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938 TO CERTAIN 
              OUTSIDE SALESMEN.

    (a) In General.--Section 13 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 213) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) For purposes of subsection (a)(1), and notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the term `outside salesman' does not include 
any individual employed in the position of a salesman, if the 
individual travels with a group of salespeople, including a supervisor, 
team leader or crew leader, and the employees in the group do not 
return to their permanent residences at the end of the work day.''.
    (b) Limitation on Child Labor.--Section 12 of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(e) No individual under 18 years of age may be employed in a 
position requiring the individual to engage in door-to-door sales or in 
related support work in a manner that requires the individual to remain 
away from the individual's permanent residence for more than 24 
hours.''.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF TRAVELLING SALES CREWS.

    (a) Travelling Sales Crew Worker Defined.--(1) Except as provided 
in paragraph (2), the term ``travelling sales crew worker'' means an 
individual who--
                    (A) is employed as a salesperson or in related 
                support work;
                    (B) travels with a group of salespersons, including 
                a supervisor; and
                    (C) is required to be absent overnight from his or 
                her permanent place of residence.--
    (2) Such term does not include--
            (D) any individual who meets the requirements of 
        subparagraph (A) if such individual is travelling to a trade 
        show or convention; or
            (E) any immediate family member of a travelling sales crew 
        employer.
    (b) Secretary to Prescribe Rules.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor (hereinafter 
in this Act, the ``Secretary'') shall prescribe rules governing the 
protection of travelling sales crews. Such rules shall contain the 
following requirements:
            (1) Registration.--Each employer or supervisor of a 
        travelling sales crew worker must obtain a certificate of 
        registration from the Secretary. The Secretary shall prescribe 
        the manner of application and the standards for issuance for 
        such a certificate, including a reasonable fee for such 
        application.
            (2) Employer requirements.--An employer of travelling sales 
        crew workers must carry out the following duties, in accordance 
        with the rules prescribed by the Secretary:
                    (A) Disclosure of conditions of employment.--The 
                employer must disclose to each travelling sales crew 
                worker employed by such employer, in writing, 
                information related to such worker's conditions of 
                employment, including the rate of pay, applicable pay 
                period, duration of employment, and whether the 
                employer provides workers' compensation insurance 
                coverage for the worker.
                    (B) Payment of wages, recordkeeping.--For each pay 
                period, the employer must--
                            (i) pay to each travelling sales crew 
                        worker employed by such employer wages owed 
                        such worker when due;
                            (ii) make such payment in United States 
                        currency or by negotiable instrument; and
                            (iii) provide a written statement to each 
                        travelling sales crew worker employed by such 
                        employer, and maintain records (which must be 
kept for at least 3 years), relating to the earnings of (and any 
withholdings of earnings from) each such worker.
                    (C) Employer payment of employee business 
                expenses.--Other than a deduction from wages for the 
                actual cost to the employer of any board, lodging, or 
                other facilities provided by the employer to a 
                travelling sales crew worker employed by such employer, 
                the employer may not require the worker--
                            (i) to purchase any goods or services 
                        solely from the employer; or
                            (ii) to pay for any of the employer's 
                        business expenses.
                    (D) Vehicle insurance.--The employer must maintain 
                liability insurance coverage in compliance with any 
                applicable State law and sufficient (as determined by 
                the Secretary) to protect any travelling sales crew 
                workers transported in such a vehicle and to ensure 
                against liability to other persons and property arising 
                from the use of such vehicle for such purpose, except 
                that if the Secretary determines that such workers are 
                covered under an applicable workers' compensation 
                insurance policy provided by the employer, additional 
                vehicle insurance covering such workers may be waived 
                by the Secretary.
                    (E) Transportation safety.--The employer must 
                maintain any motor vehicle used to transport a 
                travelling sales crew worker employed by such employer 
                in compliance with any applicable Federal, State, or 
                local vehicle safety standards and with any additional 
                safety rules prescribed by the Secretary.
                    (F) Housing safety.--The employer must maintain any 
                lodging owned or controlled by the employer in 
                compliance with any applicable Federal, State, or local 
                housing, sanitation, health, building, or other safety 
                standards and with any additional safety rules 
                prescribed by the Secretary.
                    (G) Prohibition on discrimination.--An employer, or 
                an agent of the employer, may not intimidate, threaten, 
                restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in any 
                manner discriminate against any travelling sales crew 
                worker because such worker has, with just cause, filed 
                any complaint or instituted, or caused to be 
                instituted, any proceeding under or related to this 
                Act, or has testified or is about to testify in any 
                such proceeding, or because of the exercise, with just 
                cause, by such worker on behalf of the worker or others 
                of any right or protection afforded by this Act.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Criminal Sanctions.--An employer that willfully and knowingly 
violates a rule prescribed under this Act shall be imprisoned for not 
more than one year or fined not more than $10,000, or both. Upon 
conviction for a subsequent violation of a rule prescribed under this 
Act, an employer shall be imprisoned for not more than 3 years or fined 
not more than $50,000, or both.
    (b) Civil Penalty.--An employer that violates a rule prescribed 
under this Act shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty 
of not more than $10,000 for each such violation. The Secretary may 
assess and collect such civil penalty after a determination, made on 
the record after opportunity for an agency hearing, of--
            (1) liability for such violation; and
            (2) the appropriate amount of the penalty, based on the 
        previous compliance record of the employer and the gravity of 
        the violation.
    (c) Administrative Actions.--The Secretary shall prescribe rules 
providing a procedure for an aggrieved travelling sales crew worker to 
file an administrative complaint with the Secretary, which the 
Secretary shall investigate and follow up with any appropriate 
enforcement action against the employer of such worker, including 
referral to the Attorney General of such employer for criminal 
sanctions under subsection (a), the imposition by the Secretary of a 
civil penalty under subsection (b), or the filing of a civil action on 
behalf of such worker to enjoin such employer under subsection (d).
    (d) Civil Action.--Any person aggrieved by a violation of a rule 
prescribed under this Act (or the Secretary, on behalf of any such 
person) may bring, in an appropriate United States district court 
(without regard to the amount in controversy, the citizenship of the 
parties, or the exhaustion of administrative remedies), a civil 
action--
            (1) to enjoin such violation;
            (2) to recover the greater of--
                    (A) actual damages; or
                    (B) not more than $1,000 for each such violation 
                for each plaintiff (which may not exceed $1,000,000 for 
                all plaintiffs in a class); and
            (3) for other equitable relief; and
            (4) to recover the costs of the litigation and a reasonable 
        attorney fee.
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