[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S9565]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FAIRCLOTH (for himself, Mrs. Kassebaum, Mr. Coats, Mr. 
        Ashcroft, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Frist, and Mr. Gorton):
  S. 2026. A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to make 
uniform the application of the overtime exemption for inside sales 
personnel, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Labor and Human 
Resources.


                     overtime exemption legislation

  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, in 1961, Congress amended the Fair 
Labor Standards Act to provide a narrow overtime exemption for 
commissioned employees in retail and service establishments. Under 
section 207(i) of the FLSA, outside commissioned sales employees are 
treated as professional employees and are thus exempt from the act. In 
contrast, most commissioned inside sales employees are not treated as 
professionals regardless of the similarly of their duties with regard 
to outside sales employees.
  Despite dramatic changes in the workplace since 1961, the FLSA 
continues to subject professional commissioned sales employees to an 
outdated, static view of the economy. Therefore, today I am introducing 
legislation to extend the limited FLSA exemption to all commissioned 
inside sales personnel. This bill is identical to H.R. 1226 which was 
introduced by Representative Harris Fawell.
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