I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2748 

To condition the minimum-wage-exempt status of organized camps under 

the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 on compliance with certain safety 

standards, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2005 

Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To condition the minimum-wage-exempt status of organized 

camps under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

on compliance with certain safety standards, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Camp Safety Act of 

5 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR ORGANIZED CAMPS TO CON2 TINUE MINIMUM-WAGE-EXEMPT STATUS. 

3 Section 13(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

4 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘(subject to 

6 paragraph (18))’’ after ‘‘organized camp’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at 

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(18) an organized camp under paragraph (3), 

12 if such camp— 

13 ‘‘(A) provides personal health, first aid and 

14 medical services, health supervision, and main15 tenance of camp-related health records for 

16 campers; 

17 ‘‘(B) adheres to standards for food prepa18 ration safety that are as protective or more pro19 tective than such standards recommended by 

20 the Food and Drug Administration; 

21 ‘‘(C) adheres to applicable State and local 

22 standards regarding— 

23 ‘‘(i) fire and building safety relating 

24 to the buildings and the occupants of 

25 buildings used by such camp; and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) sanitation relating to camp per2 sonnel, buildings, and grounds; 

3 ‘‘(D) reports annually to the Secretary, on 

4 a date prescribed by the Secretary, all incidents 

5 resulting in death, injury, or illness, other than 

6 minor injuries which require only first aid treat7 ment and which do not involve medical treat8 ment, loss of consciousness, restriction of activ9 ity or motion, or premature termination of a 

10 camper’s term at the camp; 

11 ‘‘(E) provides access to the Secretary for 

12 inspection or investigation of such camp under 

13 section 3 of the Camp Safety Act of 2005; 

14 ‘‘(F)(i) conducts criminal background 

15 checks of all camp employees for convictions 

16 under Federal and State laws; 

17 ‘‘(ii) maintains a record of such checks for 

18 at least 6 months after the date of termination 

19 of such an employee’s employment; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) makes such records available to the 

21 Secretary upon the request of the Secretary; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(G) maintains a ratio of at least 1 life24 guard for every 30 camper swimmers.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT BY SECRETARY OF LABOR. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

3 monitor and enforce compliance of organized camps sub4 ject to section 13(a)(18) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 

5 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(18)). In monitoring and en6 forcing such compliance, the Secretary shall— 

7 (1) implement a system for the routine report8 ing of fatalities and serious injuries or illnesses; 

9 (2) implement procedures for conducting in10 spection and verifying information provided to the 

11 Secretary by such camps; 

12 (3) investigate complaints received regarding 

13 such camps; 

14 (4) require appropriate training, including 

15 knowledge of outdoor camping, for camp inspectors; 

16 and 

17 (5) compile statistics based on the information 

18 in the reports required to be submitted by such 

19 camps under section 13(a)(18)(C) of such Act (29 

20 U.S.C. 213(a)(18)(C)); and 

21 (6) based at least in part on the statistics com22 piled under subparagraph (C), determine the areas 

23 in which additional safety standards are necessary 

24 and prescribe appropriate regulations. 
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1 (b) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.—In monitoring and 

2 enforcing compliance under subsection (a), the Secretary 

3 of Labor may— 

4 (1) enter and inspect such a camp and its 

5 records, question the employees of such camp, and 

6 investigate facts, conditions, practices, or other mat7 ters, to the extent the Secretary deems necessary or 

8 appropriate; and 

9 (2) administer oaths and examine witnesses 

10 under oath, issue subpoenas, and compel the attend11 ance of witnesses and other relevant records. 

12 SEC. 4. EFFECT ON STATE LAW. 

13 (a) EQUAL OR GREATER PROTECTION UNDER STATE

14 LAW.—Section 13(a)(18) of the Fair Labor Standards 

15 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(18)) preempts a State’s 

16 laws regarding camp safety, unless the Secretary of Labor 

17 determines that such State’s laws provide substantially the 

18 same, or greater, protection for campers as such section, 

19 but such State’s laws are only preempted to the extent 

20 that the Secretary determines that they provide lesser pro21 tection for campers than such section. 

22 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF DETERMINATION BY SEC23 RETARY.—A State aggrieved by a determination under 

24 subsection (a) may bring an action in an appropriate 
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1 United States district court for review of such determina2 tion. 

3 (c) EFFECT OF COMPLIANCE WITH EQUIVALENT

4 STATE LAW.—A person that complies with a State law 

5 which the Secretary of Labor has determined under sub6 section (a) provides substantially the same, or greater, 

7 protection for campers as section 13(a)(18) of the Fair 

8 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(18)) 

9 shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements 

10 of such section. 

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