[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2937 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2937

 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers to 
  allow employees to take meal, medical, and restroom breaks, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 21, 2019

  Mr. Schatz (for himself, Mr. Booker, and Ms. Harris) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers to 
  allow employees to take meal, medical, and restroom breaks, 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 ``Treating Workers with Dignity Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRED BREAKS FOR EMPLOYEES.

    (a) In General.--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 7 (29 U.S.C. 207) 
the following:

``SEC. 8. REQUIRED BREAKS FOR EMPLOYEES.

    ``(a) Meal Breaks.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (d), no 
        employer shall employ any employee, who in any workweek is 
        engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, 
        or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the 
        production of goods for commerce, for a period of 6 hours 
        without allowing the employee to take a break of not less than 
        30 minutes during such period in which the employee is able to 
        consume a meal.
            ``(2) Payment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), an employer shall not be required to 
                compensate an employee for a break required under 
                paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Paid breaks.--In the case in which an 
                employer employs an employee during the employee's 
                required break under paragraph (1), the employer shall 
                compensate the employee for the employment during such 
                break at a rate, for the full period of the required 
                break, that is not less than one and one-half times the 
                regular rate at which the employee is employed by the 
                employer.
    ``(b) Medical Breaks.--
            ``(1) In general.--An employer shall compensate an 
        employee, who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the 
        production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an 
        enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods 
        for commerce, for any short-duration break that the employee is 
        required to take due to a medical condition documented by a 
        medical professional.
            ``(2) Rate of compensation.--Compensation described in 
        paragraph (1) shall be at the regular rate at which the 
        employee is employed by the employer.
    ``(c) Restroom Breaks.--
            ``(1) In general.--No employer shall employ any employee, 
        who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production 
        of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged 
        in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, for a 
        period of 4 hours without allowing the employee to take a 
        reasonable break during such period to utilize the nearest 
        functioning and accessible restroom.
            ``(2) Rate of compensation.--An employer shall compensate 
        an employee described in paragraph (1) for a break described in 
        such paragraph at the regular rate at which the employee is 
        employed by the employer.
    ``(d) Collective Bargaining Agreements; State Laws.--The 
requirements under this section--
            ``(1) shall not supercede any provision in a collective 
        bargaining agreement; and
            ``(2) shall not preempt any State law that provides greater 
        protections for employees than the protections under this 
        section.''.
    (b) Enforcement.--
            (1) Prohibited act.--Section 15(a) of the Fair Labor 
        Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) to violate any provision of section 8.''.
            (2) Penalties.--Section 16 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in subsection (b), by inserting ``Any employer 
                who violates the provisions of section 8 shall be 
                liable for such legal or equitable relief as may be 
                appropriate to effectuate the purposes of such 
                section.'' after the third sentence;
                    (B) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 
                following: ``The authority and requirements described 
                in this subsection shall also apply with respect to a 
                violation of section 8, as appropriate, and the 
                employer shall be liable for such legal or equitable 
                relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes 
                of such section.''; and
                    (C) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ``section 6 
                or 7, relating to wages,'' and inserting ``section 6, 
                7, or 8, relating to wages or breaks,''.
            (3) Statute of limitations.--Section 6 of the Portal-to-
        Portal Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. 255) is amended, in the matter 
        preceding subsection (a), by inserting ``(and any cause of 
        action to enforce section 8 of such Act)'' after ``under the 
        Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 10 of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 210) is repealed.
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