[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S739-S740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COCHRAN:
  s. 1554. A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to 
clarify the exemption for houseparents from the minimum wage and 
maximum hours requirements of that Act, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


       the fair labor standards act of 1938 amendment act of 1996

 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation 
to provide a specific exemption for houseparents from the minimum wage 
and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This bill 
will provide significant relief to orphanages and group homes 
throughout the United States.
  Houseparents are men and women who work and live in a group home 
setting to care for, nurture, and supervise children. These children 
may live at 

[[Page S740]]
the home for any number of reasons. They may be abused, neglected, 
orphaned, or homeless. The importance of houseparents in providing a 
family-like, healthy environment for these children cannot be 
overstated. It is the love, hard-work, and dedication of these people 
that enables the children at the home to enjoy a caring and stable 
environment.
  As compensation for their services, houseparents receive a very 
unconventional package of benefits, including a fixed annual salary, 
food, housing, and transportation. The Department of Labor, however, 
has determined that these men and women are also entitled to overtime 
wages.
  For example, in Mississippi, the Department of Labor determined that 
since houseparents at a particular home answered long-distance calls, 
opened out-of-State mail, and took the children on trips across the 
State line that houseparents were engaged in commerce and therefore 
covered by the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act. This interpretation has threatened the houseparent 
system by placing an unbearable burden on the extremely limited 
resources of non-profit group homes.
  The legislation I am introducing today will remedy this situation by 
providing nonprofit group homes with a specific exemption for 
houseparents from minimum wage and overtime requirements. Without such 
an exemption, these homes would be forced to use a shift model of 
employment where quasi-houseparents work 8 hour shifts to care for the 
children. This alternative would not furnish the same family-like 
setting for these children that the houseparent system provides.
  It is important to note that this measure creates only a very narrow 
exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act. This bill would only 
exempt those houseparents who meet the following criteria: First, the 
houseparents must be employed by nonprofit homes; second, the group 
home in question must be the children's primary residence; third, the 
houseparents must reside with the children at the home for a minimum of 
72 hours per week; and fourth, the houseparent must receive board and 
lodging from the home, free of charge, and be compensated, on a crash 
basis, at an annual rate of not less than $8,000.
  This legislation will allow nonprofit group homes to continue to 
provide the best possible care for children. I hope my colleagues will 
carefully consider it and join me in support of its enactment.
                                 ______