[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1611 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1611

  To provide for the establishment of a commission to conduct a study 
    concerning the overtime regulations of the Department of Labor.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2003

  Mr. Specter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the establishment of a commission to conduct a study 
    concerning the overtime regulations of the Department of Labor.

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

SECTION 1. COMMISSION ON OVERTIME REGULATIONS.

    (a) Establishment of Commission.--There is established the 
Commission on Overtime Regulations (in this section referred to as the 
``Commission'').
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 11 
        members of whom--
                    (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the Secretary of 
                Labor from the general public;
                    (B) 1 member shall be a representative of business 
                to be nominated by the United States Chamber of 
                Commerce and appointed by the Secretary of Labor;
                    (C) 1 member shall be a representative of organized 
                labor to be nominated by the AFL-CIO and appointed by 
                the Secretary of Labor;
                    (D) 1 member shall be appointed by the chairman of 
                the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
                of the Senate;
                    (E) 1 member shall be appointed by the ranking 
                minority member of the Committee on Health, Education, 
                Labor, and Pensions of the Senate;
                    (F) 1 member shall be appointed by the chairman of 
                the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
                    (G) 1 member shall be appointed by the ranking 
                minority member of the Committee on Appropriations of 
                the Senate;
                    (H) 1 member shall be appointed by the chairman of 
                the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    (I) 1 member shall be appointed by the ranking 
                minority member of the Committee on Education and the 
                Workforce of the House of Representatives;
                    (J) 1 member shall be appointed by the chairman of 
                the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (K) 1 member shall be appointed by the ranking 
                minority member of the Committee on Appropriations of 
                the House of Representatives.
            (2) Period of appointment; vacancies.--Members shall be 
        appointed for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the 
        Commission shall not affect its powers, and shall be filled in 
        the same manner as the original appointment.
            (3) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
        shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
        hold hearings.
            (4) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The Commission shall 
        select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among its 
        members.
    (c) Duties of the Commission.--
            (1) Study.--The Commission shall conduct a thorough study 
        of, and develop recommendations on, issues relating to the 
        modernization of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor 
        Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) in order to 
        promote clarity and compliance. In conducting such study the 
        Commission shall--
                    (A) review the categories and number of workers not 
                eligible for overtime pay under current regulations 
                under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and identify 
                how many workers and employers might be affected by 
                proposed changes to such regulations;
                    (B) determine if the proposed regulation relating 
                to overtime is sufficiently clear to be easily 
                understood by employers and workers;
                    (C) assess the paperwork burden that employers 
                would have in order to assure that each individual 
                worker, claimed to be exempt from such overtime 
                requirements, actually is exempt under such regulation;
                    (D) assess the extent to which it will be clear to 
                the individual worker as to his or her overtime pay 
                protection under the proposed regulation;
                    (E) determine the impact of the proposed regulation 
                on the access of individuals to health care based upon 
                the impact the proposed regulation has on nurses and 
                pharmacists, and the impact that such regulation has on 
                fundamental security occupations of first responders 
                such as police, firefighters, and paramedics;
                    (F) identify how the proposed regulation would 
                affect enforcement and compliance actions of the 
                Department of Labor;
                    (G) make recommendation to simplify the definitions 
                of professional or managerial duties that exempt 
                workers from overtime requirements so that they have a 
                greater ability to know in advance what their 
                expectations should be;
                    (H) identify new and emerging specialty positions 
                in the modern workplace that require clarification of 
                their status with respect to the professional employees 
                exemption to the overtime requirements;
                    (I) review the need to update the exemption to the 
                overtime requirements for computer workers;
                    (J) examine the merits of an income ceiling above 
                which workers would be exempt from the overtime 
                requirements;
                    (K) review the salary levels used to trigger the 
                regulatory tests for overtime compliance, including the 
                merits and drawbacks of indexing such levels for 
                inflation;
                    (L) consider what kind of limited or conditional 
                ``docking'' flexibility would provide employers with 
                alternatives to termination and to week-long 
                suspensions without being used as a subterfuge to evade 
                or undermine the salary test with respect to overtime 
                requirements;
                    (M) identify obstacles small businesses may face in 
                achieving compliance or correction with respect to the 
                overtime requirements and develop a means to overcome 
                those obstacles;
                    (N) clarify the definition of ``workplace conduct'' 
                so that employers and employees know whether dangerous 
                or abusive situations, such as harassment or violence 
                off the employer's premises can, nevertheless, be 
                addressed in a manner consistent with the Fair Labor 
                Standards Act of 1938;
                    (O) identify ways in which employers can satisfy 
                the requirement that policies regarding workplace 
                conduct be in writing to permit the use of other forms 
                of notice or other technologies for communications 
                while ensuring that notice is fairly provided to 
                workers;
                    (P) identify ways to improve the availability of 
                the proposed safe harbor means of demonstrating 
                compliance with the overtime regulations by clarifying 
                that such regulations are intended to parallel existing 
                legal requirements for discrimination or labor law 
                cases and not to prompt new litigation or confusion; 
                and
                    (Q) study other issues determined appropriate by 
                the Commission.
            (2) Report.--Not later than July 30, 2004, the Commission 
        shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of Labor, the 
        appropriate committees of Congress, and the general public a 
        report concerning the study conducted under paragraph (1). The 
        report shall include the findings and recommendations of the 
        Commission with respect to the matters described in 
        subparagraphs (A) through (Q) of paragraph (1).
            (3) Effective date of revised regulations.--The Secretary 
        of Labor shall ensure that the effective date for any proposed 
        modifications to the regulations relating to the overtime 
        requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is not 
        earlier than 60 days after the date on which the report is 
        submitted under paragraph (2).
    (d) Powers of the Commission.--
            (1) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit 
        and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and 
        receive such evidence as the Commission considers advisable to 
        carry out this section. The Commission shall, to the maximum 
        extent possible, use existing data and research prior to 
        holding such hearings
            (2) Information from federal agencies.--The Commission may 
        secure directly from any Federal department or agency such 
        information as the Commission considers necessary to carry out 
        this section. Upon request of the Chairperson of the 
        Commission, the head of such department or agency shall furnish 
        such information to the Commission.
            (3) Postal services.--The Commission may use the United 
        States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions 
        as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
    (e) Commission Personnel Matters.--
            (1) Compensation; travel expenses.--Each member of the 
        Commission shall serve without compensation but shall be 
        allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
        under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
        Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business 
        in the performance of services for the Commission.
            (2) Staff and equipment.--The Department of Labor shall 
        provide all financial, administrative, and staffing 
        requirements for the Commission including--
                    (A) office space;
                    (B) furnishings; and
                    (C) equipment.
    (f) Termination of the Commission.--The Commission shall terminate 
90 days after the date on which the Commission submits its report under 
subsection (c)(2).
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