I 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5915 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 7, 2012 Mr. Kelly introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to exempt marketing research participants and mystery shoppers from certain provisions of that Act.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Research Fairness Act of 2012.

2.

Exemption for marketing research participants and mystery shoppers

Section 13(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (18)(A)any individual engaged as a participant in bona fide marketing research involved in the collection and analysis of data regarding opinions, needs, awareness, knowledge, views, experiences, or behaviors of a population, through the development and administration of surveys, interviews, focus groups, polls, observation, or other research methodologies, in which no sales, promotional, or marketing efforts are involved and through which there is no attempt to influence a participant’s attitudes or behavior; (B)any individual engaged to measure or evaluate a customer’s experience or some aspect thereof either at a defined location, or while using or purporting to use a specified product or service, provided that (i) the service opportunities are offered to the individual on a project-by-project basis, which the individual can accept or decline, and (ii) the remuneration for the services the individual performs is determined on a basis other than the amount of time worked. .