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[House Report 115-101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

115th Congress   }                                      {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                      {      115-101

======================================================================

 
                WORKING FAMILIES FLEXIBILITY ACT OF 2017

                                _______
                                

 April 28, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Ms. Foxx, from the Committee on Education and the Workforce, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 1180]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Education and the Workforce, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 1180) to amend the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 to provide compensatory time for employees in the 
private sector, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as 
amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Working Families Flexibility Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. COMPENSATORY TIME.

  Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
  ``(s) Compensatory Time Off for Private Employees.--
          ``(1) General rule.--An employee may receive, in accordance 
        with this subsection and in lieu of monetary overtime 
        compensation, compensatory time off at a rate not less than one 
        and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which 
        overtime compensation is required by this section.
          ``(2) Conditions.--An employer may provide compensatory time 
        to employees under paragraph (1) only if such time is provided 
        in accordance with--
                  ``(A) applicable provisions of a collective 
                bargaining agreement between the employer and the labor 
                organization that has been certified or recognized as 
                the representative of the employees under applicable 
                law; or
                  ``(B) in the case of an employee who is not 
                represented by a labor organization that has been 
                certified or recognized as the representative of such 
                employee under applicable law, an agreement arrived at 
                between the employer and employee before the 
                performance of the work and affirmed by a written or 
                otherwise verifiable record maintained in accordance 
                with section 11(c)--
                          ``(i) in which the employer has offered and 
                        the employee has chosen to receive compensatory 
                        time in lieu of monetary overtime compensation; 
                        and
                          ``(ii) entered into knowingly and voluntarily 
                        by such employee and not as a condition of 
                        employment.
        No employee may receive or agree to receive compensatory time 
        off under this subsection unless the employee has worked at 
        least 1,000 hours for the employee's employer during a period 
        of continuous employment with the employer in the 12-month 
        period before the date of agreement or receipt of compensatory 
        time off.
          ``(3) Hour limit.--
                  ``(A) Maximum hours.--An employee may accrue not more 
                than 160 hours of compensatory time.
                  ``(B) Compensation date.--Not later than January 31 
                of each calendar year, the employee's employer shall 
                provide monetary compensation for any unused 
                compensatory time off accrued during the preceding 
                calendar year that was not used prior to December 31 of 
                the preceding year at the rate prescribed by paragraph 
                (6). An employer may designate and communicate to the 
                employer's employees a 12-month period other than the 
                calendar year, in which case such compensation shall be 
                provided not later than 31 days after the end of such 
                12-month period.
                  ``(C) Excess of 80 hours.--The employer may provide 
                monetary compensation for an employee's unused 
                compensatory time in excess of 80 hours at any time 
                after giving the employee at least 30 days notice. Such 
                compensation shall be provided at the rate prescribed 
                by paragraph (6).
                  ``(D) Policy.--Except where a collective bargaining 
                agreement provides otherwise, an employer that has 
                adopted a policy offering compensatory time to 
                employees may discontinue such policy upon giving 
                employees 30 days notice.
                  ``(E) Written request.--An employee may withdraw an 
                agreement described in paragraph (2)(B) at any time. An 
                employee may also request in writing that monetary 
                compensation be provided, at any time, for all 
                compensatory time accrued that has not yet been used. 
                Within 30 days of receiving the written request, the 
                employer shall provide the employee the monetary 
                compensation due in accordance with paragraph (6).
          ``(4) Private employer actions.--An employer that provides 
        compensatory time under paragraph (1) to an employee shall not 
        directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce or 
        attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any employee for the 
        purpose of--
                  ``(A) interfering with such employee's rights under 
                this subsection to request or not request compensatory 
                time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime 
                compensation for overtime hours; or
                  ``(B) requiring any employee to use such compensatory 
                time.
          ``(5) Termination of employment.--An employee who has accrued 
        compensatory time off authorized to be provided under paragraph 
        (1) shall, upon the voluntary or involuntary termination of 
        employment, be paid for the unused compensatory time in 
        accordance with paragraph (6).
          ``(6) Rate of compensation.--
                  ``(A) General rule.--If compensation is to be paid to 
                an employee for accrued compensatory time off, such 
                compensation shall be paid at a rate of compensation 
                not less than--
                          ``(i) the regular rate earned by such 
                        employee when the compensatory time was 
                        accrued; or
                          ``(ii) the regular rate earned by such 
                        employee at the time such employee received 
                        payment of such compensation,
                whichever is higher.
                  ``(B) Consideration of payment.--Any payment owed to 
                an employee under this subsection for unused 
                compensatory time shall be considered unpaid overtime 
                compensation.
          ``(7) Use of time.--An employee--
                  ``(A) who has accrued compensatory time off 
                authorized to be provided under paragraph (1); and
                  ``(B) who has requested the use of such compensatory 
                time,
        shall be permitted by the employee's employer to use such time 
        within a reasonable period after making the request if the use 
        of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations 
        of the employer.
          ``(8) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                  ``(A) the term `employee' does not include an 
                employee of a public agency; and
                  ``(B) the terms `overtime compensation' and 
                `compensatory time' shall have the meanings given such 
                terms by subsection (o)(7).''.

SEC. 3. REMEDIES.

  Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216) is 
amended--
          (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``(b) Any employer'' and 
        inserting ``(b) Except as provided in subsection (f), any 
        employer''; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following:
  ``(f) An employer that violates section 7(s)(4) shall be liable to 
the employee affected in the amount of the rate of compensation 
(determined in accordance with section 7(s)(6)(A)) for each hour of 
compensatory time accrued by the employee and in an additional equal 
amount as liquidated damages reduced by the amount of such rate of 
compensation for each hour of compensatory time used by such 
employee.''.

SEC. 4. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES.

  Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Labor shall revise the materials the Secretary provides, 
under regulations published in section 516.4 of title 29, Code of 
Federal Regulations, to employers for purposes of a notice explaining 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to employees so that such notice 
reflects the amendments made to such Act by this Act.

SEC. 5. GAO REPORT.

  Beginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act and each of 
the 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit a report to Congress providing, with respect to the 
reporting period immediately prior to each such report--
          (1) data concerning the extent to which employers provide 
        compensatory time pursuant to section 7(s) of the Fair Labor 
        Standards Act of 1938, as added by this Act, and the extent to 
        which employees opt to receive compensatory time;
          (2) the number of complaints alleging a violation of such 
        section filed by any employee with the Secretary of Labor;
          (3) the number of enforcement actions commenced by the 
        Secretary or commenced by the Secretary on behalf of any 
        employee for alleged violations of such section;
          (4) the disposition or status of such complaints and actions 
        described in paragraphs (2) and (3); and
          (5) an account of any unpaid wages, damages, penalties, 
        injunctive relief, or other remedies obtained or sought by the 
        Secretary in connection with such actions described in 
        paragraph (3).

SEC. 6. SUNSET.

  This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall cease to be in 
effect on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this 
Act.

          H.R. 1180, WORKING FAMILIES FLEXIBILITY ACT OF 2017

                                Purpose

    The purpose of H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility 
Act of 2017, is to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(FLSA) to provide compensatory time for employees in the 
private sector.

                            Committee Action

                             104TH CONGRESS

Subcommittee hearing on Voluntary Compensatory Time Off

    The Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities' 
(now known as the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
consideration of legislation allowing compensatory time for 
private-sector employees began during the 104th Congress. As 
part of a series of oversight hearings on the FLSA, the 
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on June 8, 
1995, on amending the FLSA to provide private-sector employers 
with the option of allowing their employees to voluntarily 
choose to take compensatory time off. The following individuals 
testified at the hearing: Ms. Arlyce Robinson, Administrative 
Support Coordinator, Computer Sciences Corporation, Falls 
Church, Virginia; Ms. Kathleen M. Fairall, Senior Human 
Resource Representative, Timken Company, Randolph County, North 
Carolina; Ms. Sandie Moneypenny, Process Technician, Timken 
Company, Randolph County, North Carolina; Dr. M. Edith Rasell, 
Economist, Economic Policy Institute, Washington, D.C.; and Mr. 
Michael T. Leibig, Attorney-at-Law, Zwerdling, Paul, Leibig, 
Kahn, Thompson & Wolly, P.C., Fairfax, Virginia.

Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 2391, Working Families Flexibility Act of 
        1996

    On November 1, 1995, the Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections held a hearing on H.R. 2391, a bill introduced by 
Rep. Cass Ballenger (R-NC) to amend the FLSA to provide 
voluntary compensatory time for private-sector employees. The 
following witnesses testified at the hearing: Mr. Pete 
Peterson, Senior Vice President of Personnel, Hewlett-Packard 
Company, Palo Alto, California; Ms. Debbie McKay, 
Administrative Specialist, PRC, Inc., McLean, Virginia; and Mr. 
Michael T. Leibig, Attorney-at-Law, Zwerdling, Paul, Leibig, 
Kahn, Thompson & Wolly, P.C., Fairfax, Virginia.

Full Committee and House passage of H.R. 2391, Working Families 
        Flexibility Act of 1996

    On December 13, 1995, the Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections approved H.R. 2391, as amended, by voice vote, and 
ordered the bill favorably reported. On June 26, 1996, the 
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities approved 
H.R. 2391, as amended, by voice vote, and ordered the bill 
favorably reported by a roll call vote of 20 to 16. The U.S. 
House of Representatives (House) passed H.R. 2391, as amended, 
on July 30, 1996, but the Senate did not act on it prior to the 
adjournment of the 104th Congress.

                             105TH CONGRESS

Introduction of and Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1, Working Families 
        Flexibility Act

    On January 7, 1997, Rep. Ballenger introduced H.R. 1, the 
Working Families Flexibility Act. The Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections held a hearing on H.R. 1 on February 5, 1997. The 
following individuals testified at the hearing: Rep. Kay 
Granger (R-TX); Rep. Tillie Fowler (R-FL); Representative Sue 
Myrick (R-NC); Ms. Christine Korzendorfer, Manassas, Virginia; 
Mr. Peter Faust, Clear Lake, Iowa; Ms. Linda M. Smith, Miami, 
Florida; Dr. Roosevelt Thomas, Vice President of Human 
Resources and Affirmative Action, University of Miami, Coral 
Gables, Florida, testifying on behalf of the College and 
University Personnel Association; Ms. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, 
Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public 
Policy Research, Washington, D.C.; Mr. Robert D. Weisman, 
Attorney-at-Law, Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, Columbus, Ohio; Mr. 
Russell Gunter, Attorney-at-Law, testifying on behalf of the 
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Alexandria, 
Virginia; Ms. Karen Nussbaum, Director, AFL-CIO Working Women's 
Project, Washington, D.C.; and Ms. Helen Norton, Director of 
Equal Opportunity Programs, Women's Legal Defense Fund, 
Washington, D.C.

House passage of H.R. 1, Working Families Flexibility Act

    On March 5, 1997, the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce (Committee) discharged the Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections from further consideration of the bill and 
favorably reported H.R. 1, as amended, by a roll call vote of 
23 to 17. The House passed H.R. 1, as amended, on March 19, 
1997, but the Senate did not act on it prior to the adjournment 
of the 105th Congress.

                             106TH CONGRESS

Introduction of H.R. 1380, Working Families Flexibility Act

    On April 13, 1999, Rep. Ballenger introduced H.R. 1380, the 
Working Families Flexibility Act, and it was referred to the 
Committee; however, there was no action taken on the 
legislation.

                             107TH CONGRESS

First Session--Introduction and legislative action

    On May 24, 2001, Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) introduced H.R. 
1982, the Working Families Flexibility Act.

Second Session--Subcommittee hearings

    While there was no action taken on H.R. 1982 in the 107th 
Congress, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held two 
hearings focusing on the issue of increasing workplace 
flexibility under the FLSA.
    On March 6, 2002, the following individuals testified 
before the Subcommittee: Mr. Ronald Bird, Chief Economist, 
Employment Policy Foundation, Washington, D.C.; Dr. Carl E. Van 
Horn, Professor and Director, John J. Heldrich Center for 
Workforce Development, Rutgers, the State University of New 
Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey; Mr. William J. Kilberg, 
Senior Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, Washington, D.C., 
testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Ms. 
Judith M. Conti, Co-Founder and Director, Legal Services and 
Administration, D.C. Employment Justice Center, Washington, 
D.C.
    On May 15, 2002, the following individuals testified before 
the Subcommittee: Mr. Donald J. Winstead, Acting Associate 
Director for Workforce Compensation and Performance, U.S. 
Office of Personnel Management, Washington, D.C.; Mr. Andy 
Brantley, Associate Vice President for Human Resources, 
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, testifying on behalf of 
the College and University Professional Association for Human 
Resources (CUPA-HR); Mr. Thomas M. Anderson, J.D., SPHR, Human 
Resources Director, Fort Bend County, Rosenberg, Texas, 
testifying on behalf of SHRM; and Mr. Dennis Slocumb, Executive 
Vice President and Legislative Director, International Union of 
Police Associations, AFL-CIO, Alexandria, Virginia.

                             108TH CONGRESS

Introduction and Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1119, Family Time 
        Flexibility Act

    On March 6, 2003, Rep. Biggert introduced H.R. 1119, the 
Family Time Flexibility Act. The Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections held one hearing on the legislation on March 12, 
2003. The following individuals testified at the hearing: Mr. 
Houston L. Williams, Chairman and CEO, PNS, Inc., San Jose, 
California, testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce; Ms. Terri Martell, Electrician, Eastman Kodak 
Company, Wayland, New York; Ms. Ellen Bravo, National Director, 
Nine to Five: National Association of Working Women, Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin; and Mr. John A. Dantico, SPHR, CCP, Principal of 
Compensation/HR Consulting, The HR Group, Northbrook, Illinois, 
testifying on behalf of SHRM.

Committee activity on H.R. 1119, Family Time Flexibility Act

    On April 3, 2003, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections 
favorably reported H.R. 1119, without amendment, to the 
Committee by a roll call vote of 8 to 6. On April 9, 2003, the 
Committee approved H.R. 1119, without amendment, and ordered 
the bill favorably reported to the House by a roll call vote of 
27 to 22. However, the House did not act on H.R. 1119 prior to 
the adjournment of the 108th Congress.

                             110TH CONGRESS

Introduction of H.R. 6025, Family-Friendly Workplace Act

    On May 13, 2008, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) 
introduced H.R. 6025, the Family-Friendly Workplace Act, which 
was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor (now known 
as the Committee and Education and the Workforce); however, no 
action was taken on the legislation.

                             111TH CONGRESS

Introduction of H.R. 933, Family-Friendly Workplace Act

    On February 10, 2009, Rep. McMorris Rodgers introduced H.R. 
933, the Family-Friendly Workplace Act, which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor; however, no action was 
taken on the legislation.

                             113TH CONGRESS

Introduction of and Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1406, Family-Friendly 
        Workplace Act of 2013

    On April 9, 2013, Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) introduced H.R. 
1406, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, which was 
referred to the Committee. On April 11, 2013, the Subcommittee 
on Workforce Protections held a hearing on H.R. 1406. The 
following individuals testified at the hearing: Mr. Andy 
Brantley, President and Chief Executive Officer, CUPA-HR, 
Knoxville, Tennessee; Ms. Karen DeLoach, Montgomery, Alabama; 
Ms. Juanita Phillips, Director of Human Resources, Intuitive 
Research and Technology Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama, 
testifying on behalf of SHRM; and Ms. Judith Lichtman, Senior 
Advisor, National Partnership for Women & Families, Washington, 
D.C.

Full Committee markup and House passage of H.R. 1406, Family-Friendly 
        Workplace Act of 2013

    On April 17, 2013, the Committee considered H.R. 1406. Rep. 
Roby offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to make 
technical changes to the legislation. The Committee favorably 
reported H.R. 1406, as amended, to the House by a roll call 
vote of 23 to 14. On May 8, 2013, during Floor consideration by 
the House, Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) offered an amendment that 
was adopted by a roll call vote of 384 to 42. The amendment 
would have required the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
to submit a report to Congress, two years after enactment of 
the legislation, regarding private-sector use of compensatory 
time. H.R. 1406 passed the House, as amended, by a roll call 
vote of 223 to 204. The bill was not acted on by the Senate 
prior to the adjournment of the 113th Congress.

                             115TH CONGRESS

Introduction of H.R. 1180, Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017

    On February 16, 2017, Rep. Roby introduced H.R. 1180, the 
Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017, which was identical 
to H.R. 1406 as passed by the House during the 113th Congress. 
The bill was referred to the Committee.

Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1180, Working Families Flexibility Act of 
        2017

    On April 5, 2017, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections 
held a hearing on H.R. 1180. The following individuals 
testified at the hearing: Ms. Leslie-Jo Boyd Christ, Chief 
Resource Officer, WellStone Behavioral Health, Huntsville, 
Alabama; Mr. Leonard Court, Esquire, Director, Crowe & Dunlevy, 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, testifying on behalf of the U.S. 
Chamber of Commerce; Ms. Crystal Frey, Vice President of Human 
Resources, Continental Realty Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland, 
testifying on behalf of SHRM; and Ms. Vicki Shabo, Vice 
President, National Partnership for Women & Families, 
Washington, D.C.

Full Committee markup of H.R. 1180, Working Families Flexibility Act of 
        2017

    On April 26, 2017, the Committee considered H.R. 1180.\1\ 
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Workforce Protections, offered an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute making technical changes to the introduced bill. The 
Committee voted to adopt the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute by voice vote. The bill was favorably reported to 
the House, as amended, by a roll call vote of 22 to 16.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\H.R. 1180, Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017: Markup 
Before the H. Comm. on Educ. and the Workforce, 115th Cong. (Apr. 26, 
2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          Summary of H.R. 1180

    H.R. 1180 gives private-sector employers and employees an 
option under the FLSA that federal, state, and local 
governments have had for many years. H.R. 1180 does not affect 
the compensatory time provisions already applicable to 
employees of federal, state, and local governments. The bill 
permits private-sector employers to offer their employees the 
option of selecting compensatory time off or cash overtime 
wages. An employee will be able to choose, based upon a 
voluntary agreement with his or her employer, to have his or 
her overtime compensated with paid time off.
    The bill does not change the 40-hour workweek to affect the 
manner in which overtime is calculated. ``Non-exempt'' 
employees who work more than 40 hours within a seven-day period 
will continue to receive overtime compensation at a rate of not 
less than one and one-half times an employee's regular rate of 
pay. If an employer and an employee agree on compensatory time, 
the paid time off will accrue at the rate of not less than one 
and one-half hours for each hour of overtime worked.
    H.R. 1180 provides new employee protections, in addition to 
those contained in current law, in order to protect against the 
coercive use of compensatory time. The bill requires any 
arrangement for the use of compensatory time to be an expressly 
mutual agreement between the employer and the employee. In the 
case of employees who are represented by a recognized or 
certified labor organization, the agreement must be between the 
employer and the labor organization. In other cases, the 
agreement is with an individual employee, must be entered into 
knowingly and voluntarily by the employee, and may not be a 
condition of employment.
    To be eligible to choose compensatory time, an employee 
must have worked at least 1,000 hours in a period of continuous 
employment with the employer during the 12-month period 
preceding the date the employee agrees to receive or receives 
compensatory time.
    An agreement for the use of compensatory time between an 
individual employee and his or her employer must be affirmed by 
a written or otherwise verifiable statement that the employee 
has chosen to receive compensatory time off in lieu of cash 
compensation. The agreement must be made, kept, and preserved 
in accordance with the recordkeeping requirements under Section 
11(c) of the FLSA.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\29 U.S.C. Sec.  211(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    An employee can accrue up to 160 hours of compensatory time 
each year. Any accrued compensatory time that has not been used 
by the employee by the end of each year (or an alternative 12-
month period as designated by the employer) must be paid by the 
employer to the employee in the form of monetary compensation. 
Likewise, any unused, accrued compensatory time would be cashed 
out at the end of an employee's employment with the employer, 
whether voluntary or involuntary. An employee may also request 
in writing that monetary compensation be provided, at any time, 
for accrued compensatory time that has not yet been used. In 
all cases, the compensatory time would be cashed out at the 
regular rate of pay earned by the employee when the 
compensatory time was accrued, or at the regular rate earned by 
the employee when the employee cashed out, whichever is higher.
    An employee may, at any time, withdraw from a compensatory 
time agreement with his or her employer. Within 30 days of 
receiving such a written request, the employer shall provide 
the employee with monetary compensation for the unused, accrued 
compensatory time.
    A private-sector employer must provide an employee with 30 
days' notice prior to cashing out an employee's accrued, unused 
compensatory time. However, an employer may only cash out 
unused compensatory time accrued by an employee in excess of 80 
hours, unless the cash out is employee-initiated. A private-
sector employer must also provide employees with 30 days' 
notice prior to discontinuing a policy of offering compensatory 
time to employees.
    Any accrued, unused compensatory time would be considered 
to be the same as wages owed to the employee. For the purposes 
of enforcement, as with any other violation of the FLSA, all of 
the remedies under the law would apply. In addition, any 
employer who directly or indirectly intimidates, threatens, or 
coerces any employee into selecting compensatory time off in 
lieu of cash compensation, or who forces an employee to use 
accrued compensatory time, would be liable to the employee for 
the cash value of the accrued compensatory time, plus an 
additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced by the 
amount of compensatory time already used by the employee.
    Finally, H.R. 1180 contains a sunset provision whereby the 
legislation ceases to exist five years after the date of its 
enactment. This will allow Congress to review the use of 
compensatory time by private-sector employers and employees 
and, if need be, to make adjustments in the legislation 
authorizing its use.

                            Committee Views

Background

    The FLSA was enacted in 1938.\3\ Among its provisions is 
the requirement that hours of work by ``non-exempt employees'' 
beyond 40 hours in a seven-day period must be compensated at a 
rate of one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of 
pay.\4\ Certain exceptions to the ``40 hour workweek'' are 
permitted, under Sections 7 and 13 of the FLSA,\5\ for a 
variety of specific types and places of employment where 
circumstances have led Congress, over the years, to enact 
specific provisions regarding maximum hours of work for those 
types of employment. In addition, the ``overtime pay'' 
requirement does not apply to employees who are exempt as 
``executive, administrative, or professional'' employees.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Id. Sec. Sec.  201-219.
    \4\Id. Sec.  207.
    \5\Id. Sec.  207, 213.
    \6\Id. Sec.  213.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Under the FLSA's overtime requirements, overtime pay for 
employees in the private sector must be in the form of cash 
wages paid to the employee in the employee's next paycheck. 
This is different than overtime requirements for employees in 
the public sector. Section 7(o) of the FLSA, added to the law 
in 1985, provides that state and local government employers may 
offer their employees compensatory time at a rate not less than 
one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which 
overtime compensation is required, subject to regulatory 
requirements administered by the Department of Labor.\7\ While 
federal government employees may also earn compensatory time 
off, their use of compensatory time is governed by the Federal 
Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of 1978 
and subject to regulatory requirements administered by the 
Office of Personnel Management.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\Id. Sec.  207(o); 29 C.F.R. Sec. Sec.  553.20-553.28.
    \8\See 5 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  5543, 6123; 5 C.F.R. Sec. Sec.  550.114, 
551.531. Of particular note, federal government employees may generally 
earn one hour of compensatory time for each hour of overtime worked. 
See 5 U.S.C. Sec.  5543.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This difference in treatment between the private and public 
sectors is explained by the fact that the public-sector 
compensatory time provisions were added nearly 50 years after 
the FLSA was originally written. As a result, the public-sector 
compensatory time provisions included a recognition that the 
workplace and workforce had changed greatly since 1938. 
Specifically, in adding Section 7(o) to the FLSA in 1985, 
Congress recognized that changes in the workplace and workforce 
had led many state and local governments and their employees, 
prior to their being covered by the FLSA,\9\ to mutually agree 
upon forms of compensatory time. As the Senate Committee on 
Labor and Human Resources explained in including compensatory 
time for state and local governments in the 1985 amendments to 
the FLSA:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\In Garcia v. San Antonio Metro. Transit Auth., 469 U.S. 528 
(1985), the Supreme Court held that state and local government 
employees were covered by the FLSA.

          The Committee also is cognizant that many state and 
        local government employers and their employees 
        voluntarily have worked out arrangements providing for 
        compensatory time off in lieu of pay for hours worked 
        beyond the normally scheduled workweek. These 
        arrangements--frequently the result of collective 
        bargaining--reflect mutually satisfactory solutions 
        that are both fiscally and socially responsible. To the 
        extent practicable, we wish to accommodate such 
        arrangements.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\Report on S. 1570, Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U.S. 
Senate, 99th Congress, First Session, Senate Report No. 99-159 at 8.

    The Committee is certain that compensatory time can provide 
``mutually satisfactory solutions'' in the private sector no 
less than is the case in the public sector. The Committee has 
heard compelling testimony from employees in the private sector 
who are covered by the overtime protections of the FLSA and who 
believe that a change in the law to allow compensatory time 
would be of great benefit to them.
    Ms. Arlyce Robinson, an Administrative Support Coordinator 
for Computer Services Corporation and an hourly non-exempt 
employee, described to the Subcommittee how she would like to 
be able to use compensatory time:

          I am here this morning to share with you my feelings 
        about the impact of a law that was created over 50 
        years ago to protect many of us in the workplace, the 
        Fair Labor Standards Act. I know that under this law, 
        as a non-exempt employee I am eligible for overtime if 
        I work more than 40 hours in a work week. And, while I 
        never turned down an opportunity to earn more money, 
        there have been times when I would have gladly given up 
        the additional pay to enjoy flexibility in planning my 
        work schedule, the same flexibility that my exempt 
        colleagues have had for some time. Let me give you an 
        example.
          In a few months, as all of you know, the weather 
        around Washington D.C. will become much colder. We are 
        likely to see some snow and ice. And if we have a 
        winter like the one we had two years ago, we will 
        likely see a great deal of snow and ice. If it snows on 
        a Monday or Tuesday--at the beginning of my workweek--
        and I can't get to work on one of those days, I know 
        that I can make up the hours that I missed by working 
        extra hours later in that same week--say on Thursday or 
        Friday. However, if it snows at the end of my workweek, 
        we have a different issue. Although my company would 
        like to allow me to make up the work during the 
        following workweek, the fact is that they can't allow 
        it without incurring additional costs. You see, if I 
        only worked 4 eight hour days--or 32 hours--the first 
        week, I would have to work 48 hours the following week 
        in order to have a full 80 hour paycheck for the two 
        week period. But right now under the Fair Labor 
        Standards Act, each one of the 8 hours worked over 40 
        in the second week would have to be paid on an overtime 
        basis. That's just too expensive for my company, given 
        the number of non-exempt employees that we have. So 
        since I can't make up the time in the second week, I 
        have to take vacation leave which keeps my paycheck 
        whole but gives me less vacation to use later--when I 
        would like to use it. My only other alternative is to 
        take leave without pay, which keeps my vacation intact, 
        but results in my losing money in my paycheck. And I do 
        need my paycheck!!
        . . . For the first 20 years of my career, I worked in 
        the public sector as a secretary and as an 
        administrative assistant in the DC public school system 
        and for the DC Office of Personnel. When I worked for 
        these agencies, I was able to earn and use compensatory 
        time. I can't earn that now . . . This lack of 
        flexibility is especially difficult for parents of 
        young children, both mothers and fathers, and, 
        particularly, for single parents. Doctor appointments 
        and school conferences can often only be scheduled 
        during work hours. For non-exempt employees, this often 
        means having to take sick leave or vacation leave to 
        have a few hours off to take care of family 
        responsibilities.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\Hearings on the Fair Labor Standards Act before the 
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on Economic and 
Educational Opportunities, U.S. House of Representatives, 104th 
Congress, First Session, Serial No. 104-46 at 180-81.

    Ms. Sandie Moneypenny, a process technician for the Timken 
Company and an hourly non-exempt employee, described how having 
the option of choosing compensatory time could help her as a 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
working mother:

          Compensatory time off for a working mother like 
        myself would be very helpful. If I had to leave work 
        because of a sick child, wanted to attend a teachers 
        conference, needed to take my child to the dentist or 
        just wanted time off to be with my family, I would have 
        the option without it affecting my pay.
          Today I can only use compensatory time in the week it 
        occurs, but as most of you know, life doesn't seem to 
        work that way. If I could bank my overtime, I wouldn't 
        have to worry about missing work if my child gets sick 
        on Monday or Tuesday. I also would only be postponing 
        valuable time off with my family when I have a busy 
        work week, because I could always take the time off at 
        a later date.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\Id. at 186.

    Ms. Deborah McKay, an administrative specialist, with PRC, 
Inc. testified about why she would like to have the option of 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
selecting compensatory time off:

          Under this proposal, an employee would be given the 
        option to use overtime compensatory time at a later 
        date when these family emergency type situations occur. 
        Personally, I would find this time useful in working on 
        term papers and projects for school as well as waiting 
        for the repairman. There is nothing more frustrating 
        than having to take a whole day of leave to have a 
        scheduled repairman show up--supposed to show up at 9 
        a.m. and then not show up until 3 or 4 in the 
        afternoon.
        . . . [W]hat I am recommending is simple . . . [H]ave 
        the FLSA amended by giving non-exempt and exempt 
        employees the option of time and a half pay or time and 
        a half of equal value off.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\Id. at 416-17.

    Mr. Peter Faust, an hourly employee at a nonprofit facility 
for individuals who are mentally and/or physically disabled, 
related the difficulty he and his wife have when struggling to 
balance family responsibilities with work schedules and the 
importance additional time off would have for him and his 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
coworkers:

          There are a lot of ways to make money in this country 
        and lots of ways to spend it, but there's only one way 
        to spend time with yourself, family or friends, and 
        that's to have the time to spend.
          In this country of choice, can the working families 
        have a choice? Some already do. Federal employees have 
        had the choice to save comp time since 1978. State and 
        local employees can save it too. Does our government 
        value the private working families in this country 
        enough to give us the same choice?\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\Hearing on H.R. 1, Working Families Flexibility Act, before the 
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, 105th Congress, First 
Session, Serial No. 105-1 at 17-18.

    Ms. Linda M. Smith, a medical staff credentialing 
coordinator and secretary at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, 
expressed her ``wholehearted support'' for the development of a 
program that would enable her to have the option of 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
compensatory time:

          With the implementation of the banked comp time 
        program, I could use my overtime hours to create time 
        for pregnancy leave for a second child, furthering my 
        education, taking care of a debilitated parent, or, 
        closest to my heart, creating special days with my 
        daughter. A goal of mine is to obtain my degree. My 
        employer allows me to take one class during working 
        hours, without pay. With accrued comp time, I could 
        take the class during working hours, with pay. Accrued 
        comp time would also allow me to take time off for 
        doctors' appointments, teachers conferences, or to care 
        for a sick child without having to use accrued sick 
        time. In this way, sick time could be saved for 
        catastrophic or long-term illnesses.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\Id. at 22.

    Ms. Christine Korzendorfer, an hourly employee with TRW, 
told the Subcommittee how important it would be for her to be 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
able to choose compensatory time:

          This schedule as a hourly employee provides me with a 
        lot of overtime pay. This pay is important to me. 
        However, the time with my family is more important. If 
        I had a choice there are times when I would prefer to 
        take comp time in lieu of overtime. What makes this 
        idea appealing is that I would have a choice with the 
        legislation you are considering.
          Just recently, my son was ill and I had to stay at 
        home with him. I took a day of vacation which I would 
        have preferred to use for vacation! But I did not want 
        to take unpaid leave. . . . If I had the choice, I 
        would have used comp time in lieu of overtime for that 
        day off from work. Besides, I would have only had to 
        use about five and one-half hours of comp time to cover 
        that eight hour day.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\Id. at 10-11.

    Ms. Terri Martell, an electrician with the Eastman Kodak 
Company, told the Subcommittee about the increased flexibility 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
that compensatory time would provide to her and her co-workers:

          Another example of needing flexibility with overtime 
        pay and how it is paid is when the children are sick. I 
        remember when my 10-year old Eric was born, I used up 
        eleven of my twenty vacation days to stay home with him 
        or take him to the doctor just that first year. Being a 
        first time mom and needing to nurture him while he was 
        sick was very important to him and to me. As a working 
        mother, it is very stressful to be at work when your 
        children are in someone else's care. In 1993, I could 
        have used that [comp] time during those emergencies.
          I have heard from co-workers who feel strongly about 
        the need for the more flexible schedules--the kind that 
        comp time would allow. These are employees who are 
        caregivers of their aging parents. One colleague in 
        particular told me of her need to balance work and 
        family. For her, comp time would mean allowing more 
        flexibility in spending more time with her ill parent. 
        The ability to save overtime as comp time and use it in 
        times of need is crucial when crisis occurs but also to 
        cope with day-to-day challenges. Also, someone who has 
        used up annual vacation hours may have a need for extra 
        time later in the year. Banking comp time could offer 
        options instead of requiring employees to choose 
        between working and taking time off without pay to 
        address family needs.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \17\Hearing on H.R. 1119, Family Time Flexibility Act, before the 
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, 108th Congress, First 
Session, Serial No. 108-7 at 50.

    Ironically, employees who are classified as exempt under 
the FLSA are not so restricted by law and often are permitted 
by their employers to have much more flexibility in their 
schedules than non-exempt employees. But for non-exempt 
employees, the law has denied them the flexibility that they 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
need and want. As Ms. Robinson summarized:

          While the law was intended to protect us--and maybe 
        50 years ago it did--in today's business world it has 
        had the effect of creating the illusion of two classes 
        of workers. The term non-exempt is often misinterpreted 
        to mean ``less than professional.''\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\Hearings on the Fair Labor Standards Act before the 
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on Economic and 
Educational Opportunities, U.S. House of Representatives, 104th 
Congress, First Session, Serial No. 104-46 at 181.

    Ms. Karen DeLoach, a bookkeeper from Montgomery, Alabama, 
shared her personal insight into the importance of allowing 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
employees to choose between compensatory time and cash wages:

          You may wonder why compensatory time could matter to 
        an empty-nester who seems to be in pretty good health. 
        Why would I need more time off from work than the paid 
        sick and vacation time that my employer agreed to allow 
        annually? Well, I've learned in the last several years 
        that there can still be many unforeseen needs in 
        addition to any planned break from the routine.
          In the last three years, my mother, my brother, my 
        father-in-law and one of my sons-in-law have all passed 
        away, some at relatively early ages. I am not getting 
        any younger, and neither is the rest of the world so 
        yes, I say again, time is precious to me. I would 
        greatly appreciate the option at work to choose between 
        being compensated in dollars or days.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\Hearing on H.R. 1406, Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, 
before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, 113th 
Congress, First Session, Serial No. 113-13 at 16.

    Ms. Crystal Frey, vice president of human resources for a 
real estate business, shared how compensatory time would help 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
employees better manage their work and family life:

          I was recently approached by a non-exempt leasing 
        consultant who was facing numerous life-changing events 
        at one time, including the birth of her child, her 
        upcoming marriage, and the completion of her college 
        degree . . . [I]f comp time had been an option 
        available to her, I believe it would have given her 
        even more access to paid leave.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \20\Hearing on H.R. 1180, Working Families Flexibility Act, before 
the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on Education and 
the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, 115th Congress, First 
Session (oral testimony of Crystal Frey, Continental Realty 
Corporation).

    There is ample support for concluding that Ms. Robinson, 
Ms. Moneypenny, Ms. McKay, Mr. Faust, Ms. Smith, Ms. 
Korzendorfer, Ms. Martell, and Ms. DeLoach are not alone in 
wanting the increased flexibility provided by the Working 
Families Flexibility Act. As Ms. Juanita Phillips, Director of 
Human Resources at Intuitive Research and Technology 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation, testified before the Subcommittee:

          The increased diversity and complexity within the 
        American workforce--combined with global competition in 
        a 24/7 economy--is driving the need for more workplace 
        flexibility. C-suite executives, for example, say the 
        biggest threat to their organizations' success is 
        attracting and retaining top talent. Human resource 
        professionals believe the best way to attract and 
        retain the best people is to provide workplace 
        flexibility. Moreover, a large majority of employees--
        87 percent--report that flexibility in their jobs would 
        be ``extremely'' or ``very'' important in deciding 
        whether to take a new job.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \21\Hearing on H.R. 1406, Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, 
before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, 113th 
Congress, First Session, Serial No. 113-13 at 11.

    Most recently, Ms. Leslie-Jo Boyd Christ, chief resource 
officer at a nonprofit focused on behavioral health, detailed 
the effects of denying workers the opportunity to choose 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
compensatory time:

          Many [of our] employees work side by side with 
        Huntsville Police Department officers, who do benefit 
        from the option of receiving overtime pay or comp 
        time--it is difficult for employees to understand why 
        the rules are different for public or governmental 
        agencies when they work so hard for our community.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \22\Hearing on H.R. 1180, Working Families Flexibility Act, before 
the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on Education and 
the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, 115th Congress, First 
Session, Apr. 5, 2017 (oral testimony of Leslie Christ, WellStone 
Behavioral Health).

    Mr. Leonard Court testified before the Subcommittee about 
how the protections under the Working Families Flexibility Act 
of 2017 would help ensure employee choice and control over 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
their selection of compensatory time:

          The bill is carefully drafted to ensure that 
        employees retain maximum flexibility in being able to 
        choose whether to take the comp time option, whether to 
        continue exercising it, when they may seek a cash out 
        of their banked time, and to protect them from any 
        coercion or undue influence from the employer as to 
        whether they exercise the comp time option.\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \23\Id. (oral testimony of Mr. Leonard Court, Esq., Crowe & 
Dunlevy).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

H.R. 1180, Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017

    H.R. 1180 amends the FLSA to permit employers in the 
private sector to offer their employees the voluntary option to 
receive overtime pay in the form of compensatory time off in 
lieu of cash wages. The legislation does not change the 
employer's obligation to pay overtime at the rate of one and 
one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for any hours 
worked more than 40 in a seven-day period. The bill simply 
allows overtime compensation to be given in the form of paid 
time off, at the rate of one and one-half hours of compensatory 
time for each hour of overtime worked, and only if the employee 
and employer agree on that form of overtime compensation. As is 
the case where compensatory time is already used in the public 
sector, the employee would be paid at the employee's regular 
hourly rate of pay when the compensatory time is used.
    H.R. 1180 does not alter current use of compensatory time 
in the public sector in any way. Rather, the legislation 
extends the option of compensatory time off to private-sector 
employees, which is the same option that federal, state, and 
local government employees have had for many years, and which 
has the support of private-sector employees who have testified 
before the Committee. The legislation includes numerous 
protections for employees to assure that employees' choice and 
use of compensatory time are truly voluntary. Compensatory 
time, as provided in H.R. 1180, is not a mandate on employers 
or employees. H.R. 1180 simply gives employees and employers 
the opportunity to agree to this arrangement, an opportunity 
that is now denied to them by the FLSA.

Compensatory time agreement

    Under H.R. 1180, an employer and his or her employee must 
reach an express mutual agreement that overtime compensation 
will be in the form of compensatory time. If either the 
employee or the employer does not so agree, then the overtime 
compensation must be in the form of cash wages.
    The agreement between the employer and employee must be 
reached prior to the performance of the work for which the 
compensatory time would be given. The agreement may be specific 
as to each hour of overtime, or it may be a blanket agreement 
covering overtime worked within a set period of time.
    The bill allows two types of employer-employee agreements 
on compensatory time. Where the employee is represented by a 
recognized or certified labor organization, the agreement must 
be in the collective bargaining agreement between the employer 
and the recognized or certified labor organization. By 
referring to a labor organization that has been recognized or 
certified under applicable law, H.R. 1180 includes any law 
providing for recognition or certification of labor 
organizations representing private-sector workers in collective 
bargaining, including, at the federal level, the National Labor 
Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act.
    Where an employee is not represented by a recognized or 
certified labor organization, the agreement must be made 
between the employer and the individual employee. The bill 
specifies that any such agreement between the employer and an 
individual employee must be entered into knowingly and 
voluntarily by the employee, and it may not be a condition of 
employment.
    The bill also requires that, with regard to agreements 
between employers and individual employees, the agreement on 
compensatory time between the employer and the employee must be 
affirmed in a written or otherwise verifiable statement. The 
latter is intended to allow computerized and other similar 
payroll systems to include this information, so long as the 
employee's agreement to take the overtime in the form of 
compensatory time is verifiable. The Committee does not intend 
that the agreement could be purely oral with no contemporaneous 
record kept. To further assure compensatory time agreements are 
authentic, H.R. 1180 provides that, pursuant to the general 
recordkeeping authority of the FLSA, the Secretary of Labor has 
authority to prescribe the information which the records of 
such agreements must include and the period of time the records 
should be maintained by the employer.\24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\29 U.S.C. Sec.  211(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The assurance that an individual employee's agreement to 
choose compensatory time is voluntary is further protected by 
provisions in the bill that allow an employee who has entered 
into such an agreement to withdraw it at any time. Thus, an 
employee who agrees that all or a portion of the overtime hours 
he or she works will be compensated in this form may at any 
point withdraw from that arrangement, in which case any 
subsequent hours of overtime worked by the employee must be 
compensated in the form of cash wages.
    Just as is the case with compensatory time as it operates 
in the public sector, H.R. 1180 does not require that the same 
agreement be made with every employee, or that the employer 
agree to offer compensatory time to all employees.\25\ 
Opponents of compensatory time claim this allows an employer to 
unfairly single out employees and to force them to take 
compensatory time in lieu of cash wages against the employee's 
wishes. However, the bill's express prohibition on ``direct or 
indirect coercion'' and attempted coercion of employees (see 
discussion below), prohibits an employer from conferring any 
benefit or compensation for the purpose of interfering with an 
employee's right to request or not request compensatory time. 
Thus, an employer may not single out employees for overtime 
work for the purpose of rewarding or punishing employees for 
their willingness or unwillingness to take compensatory 
time.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \25\29 C.F.R. 553.23(c) (``An employer need not adopt the same 
agreement or understanding with different employees and need not 
provide compensatory time to all employees.'')
    \26\Obviously an employer also may not use any overtime policy, 
including compensatory time, to discriminate among employees for any 
reason prohibited by law. See Testimony of Mr. Robert Weisman, Hearing 
on H.R. 1, Working Families Flexibility Act, before the Subcommittee on 
Workforce Protections, Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. 
House of Representatives, 105th Congress, First Session, Serial No. 
105-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The opponents of compensatory time have argued that 
compensatory time should be denied to employees in the private 
sector, but if it is allowed, then ``low-wage'' workers and 
certain occupations (e.g., temporary, seasonal, or part-time 
occupations) should be excluded. The Committee believes that 
many workers who likely would be included in a national 
definition of ``low-wage'' want to have the option of 
compensatory time off--and are perfectly capable of making that 
decision themselves. Indeed, some of the most forceful and 
compelling testimony before the Subcommittee in support of 
allowing workers the option of compensatory time was given by a 
``low-wage worker,'' Mr. Peter Faust, who likely would be 
denied that option if all such workers were excluded from H.R. 
1180.\27\ Further, the requirement for mutual agreement by the 
employer and the employee and the employee protections in the 
bill ensure that compensatory time is voluntary. The Committee 
sees no reason to deny certain employees the option of 
compensatory time based solely upon their level of income or 
their occupation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \27\Id. at 17-18.
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Conditions on compensatory time

    The Committee intends that compensatory time be a matter of 
agreement between employers and employees and, to that end, the 
law should permit employers and employees some flexibility in 
structuring compensatory time arrangements. H.R. 1180 provides 
certain parameters for such compensatory time arrangements, 
primarily in order to ensure employees are fully protected. 
These parameters apply whether the compensatory time agreement 
is with a labor organization or with an individual employee 
(see discussion above). The agreement between the employer and 
employee may include other provisions governing the 
preservation, use, or cashing out of compensatory time, so long 
as these provisions are consistent with H.R. 1180. To the 
extent that any provision of an agreement is in violation of 
H.R. 1180, the provision would be superseded by the 
requirements of the FLSA.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \28\This relationship between the agreement and the parameters 
stated in law is the same as applies to public-sector compensatory 
time. See 29 C.F.R. Sec. 553.23(a)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Employee eligibility requirements

    To be eligible to choose compensatory time, an employee 
must have worked at least 1,000 hours in a period of continuous 
employment with the employer during the 12-month period 
preceding the date the employee agrees to receive or receives 
compensatory time. Under the bill, this 1,000 hour requirement 
is assessed on a ``rolling'' basis, such that to be eligible to 
enter an agreement to receive compensatory time, or to actually 
receive compensatory time in lieu of cash compensation for 
overtime, such employee must have worked at least 1,000 hours 
in a period of continuous employment with the employer in the 
12-month period prior to either entering such an agreement or 
actually receiving compensatory time.
    The Committee expects that the phrase ``period of 
continuous employment with the employer'' will be construed to 
encompass an unbroken period of time in which an employee is 
maintained on the payroll of a single employer (or, as 
applicable, its successor) on active status, or on inactive 
status where the employer has a reasonable expectation that the 
employee will return to duty (e.g., an employee on paid or 
unpaid leave whom the employer reasonably expects will return 
to duty will generally be considered to be in a ``period of 
continuous employment'' with the employer).

Compensatory time accrual limit

    H.R. 1180 provides that an employee may accrue no more than 
160 hours of compensatory time. This is in contrast to the 
public-sector provisions in current law that allow most 
employees to accrue 240 hours of compensatory time (in some 
occupations, employees may accrue up to 480 hours). The lower 
limit for private-sector employees is designed to protect both 
employers and employees against accrual of excessive amounts of 
compensatory time liability.
    The Committee emphasizes that this 160-hour limit is the 
legal maximum that may be accrued. Employers and employees may 
establish a lower limit for compensatory time accrual, and 
employees, of course, may decline compensatory time as payment 
for overtime altogether.

Monetary compensation for unused compensatory time

    The bill requires annual ``cash out'' of all accrued 
compensatory time. Such annual cash out protects both employers 
and employees against accrual of excessive amounts of 
compensatory time liability. Unless an alternative date is 
established by the employer, the annual cash out date is the 
end of the calendar year (December 31), and the employee must 
be paid for the accrued compensatory time not later than the 
following January 31. The employer may establish an alternative 
annual cash out date, in which case the employer must pay the 
employee for any accrued and unused compensatory time within 31 
days of the end of the 12-month period. Subject to continued 
agreement between the employer and employee, the employee may 
begin to accrue compensatory time anew after the cash out date.
    An employer may cash out some accrued compensatory time 
more frequently than annually. However, the employer must 
provide an employee with 30 days' notice prior to cashing out 
the employee's accrued, unused compensatory time, and may only 
cash out accrued compensatory time that is in excess of 80 
hours.
    An employee may also choose to cash out his or her accrued 
compensatory time at any time. The employee may submit a 
written request to such effect to the employer, upon which 
request the employer must cash out the employee's accrued 
compensatory time within 30 days of receiving the request. 
There is no limit on an employee's ability to cash out accrued 
compensatory time.
    As described above, an employee who has an individual 
agreement with his or her employer regarding compensatory time 
may withdraw that agreement at any time. Similarly, an employer 
who offers compensatory time to employees may discontinue such 
policy upon giving employees 30 days' notice, except where a 
collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise. In the 
event an employer does discontinue offering compensatory time, 
any hours of compensatory time already accrued by employees 
remain the employees' hours and must be so recognized by the 
employer.
    The bill provides that upon the voluntary or involuntary 
termination of employment, an employee's unused compensatory 
time must be cashed out by the employer, and it is to be 
treated as a wage payment due and owed to the employee. The 
bill further provides that any payment owed to an employee or 
former employee (whether because of the annual cash out of all 
accrued compensatory time, because of the employee's request to 
cash out accrued compensatory time, because of the employer's 
decision to cash out certain accrued compensatory time as 
described above, or because of the voluntary or involuntary 
termination of employment) shall be considered unpaid overtime 
compensation owed to the employee. In addition to making 
explicit that the remedies for unpaid overtime compensation 
under the FLSA apply, this provision also assures that any 
unpaid, accrued compensatory time is treated as unpaid employee 
wages in the event of the employer's bankruptcy. Thus, any 
unpaid, accrued compensatory time would have the same priority 
claim and legal status as other employee wages under both the 
FLSA and the Bankruptcy Code. As described above, the payment 
for accrued compensatory time is owed to the employee or former 
employee when the claim for payment is made, and it takes the 
same priority as other wages as of that date.
    In all cases in which accrued compensatory time is cashed 
out, the rate of cash out must be the employee's regular rate 
of pay when the compensatory time was accrued or the employee's 
regular rate when the employee cashed out, whichever is higher. 
Thus, for example, if compensatory time is accrued during the 
course of a year and the employee has received an increase in 
his or her hourly rate of pay during the year after the 
compensatory time is accrued, the cash out rate at the end of 
the year would be the employee's regular rate of pay at the end 
of the year, reflecting the employee's increase in pay, even if 
the compensatory time was accrued prior to the pay increase.

Notice to employees

    H.R. 1180 requires the Secretary of Labor to revise the 
posting requirements under the regulations of the FLSA to 
reflect the compensatory time provisions of the bill. This will 
help to ensure that employees are informed of the circumstances 
under which compensatory time may be offered by an employer, 
the employees' right to accept or decline such offer, and the 
employees' rights regarding the use of compensatory time. The 
Secretary of Labor may, of course, promulgate such regulations 
as necessary in order to implement the provisions of H.R. 1180.

Compensatory time and employment benefits

    Opponents of H.R. 1180 have raised the unfounded claim that 
compensatory time would reduce an employee's pension benefits. 
The overtime hours for which an employee receives compensatory 
time are hours for which the employee is paid or entitled to 
pay for the performance of duties for the employer. Therefore, 
they would fall within the definition of ``hours of service'' 
under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, for which 
the employee would be credited for purposes of accrual, 
participation, and vesting of benefits.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \29\C.F.R. 2530.200b-2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Obviously, in some cases the employee also has not worked 
hours that he or she otherwise would have when the employee 
uses (as compared to accrues) compensatory time off. Thus, the 
employee's total hours worked may be reduced, not by the 
earning of compensatory time, but by substituting the 
compensatory time off for other hours of work. If, as a result, 
the employee works fewer total hours, the employee's total 
monetary earnings and credits for benefits may be less. But 
that effect is no different than any other decision by the 
employee (for example, refusing optional overtime work) that 
reduces the total number of hours actually worked by the 
employee. Of course, employees who choose to take compensatory 
time off have elected to receive a benefit that enables them to 
spend more time with their family or for whatever purpose they 
wish, which is not available to employees who elected to 
receive cash wages.
    Similarly, opponents have suggested compensatory time 
disadvantages an employee's eligibility for unemployment 
benefits or the amount of unemployment benefits to which the 
employee would be entitled. H.R. 1180 clearly treats 
compensatory time as employee wages, and any payments for 
accrued compensatory time would be treated the same as other 
employee wages under state laws, for purposes of eligibility 
for unemployment benefits and determination of the amount of 
benefits. Receipt of compensation for accrued compensatory time 
when an employee's employment is terminated may, depending on 
state law on ``disqualifying income,'' defer receipt of 
unemployment benefits, but it would not diminish the total 
benefits to which the employee may be entitled. However, to 
suggest, as some have, that compensatory time payments should 
not be considered as wages in any unemployment benefit 
determination would be to turn existing federal policy on 
``disqualifying income'' on its head, by dictating to the 
States how this form of employee wages should be treated.

Employee use of accrued compensatory time

    Under H.R. 1180, an employee who has accrued compensatory 
time may generally use the time whenever he or she so desires. 
The only limitations the bill puts on the use of compensatory 
time is that the employee's request to use compensatory time 
off be made a reasonable time in advance of using it, and 
employee's use of time off does not ``unduly disrupt'' the 
employer's operations. It is the Committee's intent that an 
employer shall grant the employee's request to use accrued 
compensatory time off on the date and/or time requested by the 
employee, if the use on such date and/or time does not ``unduly 
disrupt'' the employer's operations, and if the employee has 
requested use of the accrued compensatory time within a 
reasonable period in advance of the date and/or time requested.
    These conditions on the use of accrued compensatory time 
are the same as those in current law for public-sector use of 
compensatory time under Section 7(o) of the FLSA.\30\ 
Regulations issued by the Department of Labor under Section 
7(o) define ``unduly disrupt'' as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \30\29 U.S.C. Sec. 207(o)(5).

          When an employer receives a request for compensatory 
        time off, it shall be honored unless to do so would be 
        ``unduly disruptive'' to the agency's operations. Mere 
        inconvenience to the employer is an insufficient basis 
        for denial of a request for compensatory time off. For 
        an agency to turn down a request from an employee for 
        compensatory time off requires that it should 
        reasonably and in good faith anticipate that it would 
        impose an unreasonable burden on the agency's ability 
        to provide services of acceptable quality and quantity 
        for the public during the time requested without the 
        use of the employee's services.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \31\29 C.F.R. Sec. 553.25(d); see also Department of Labor, Wage 
and Hour Opinion Letter, 1994 DOLWH LEXIS 71 (Aug. 19, 1994) (``It is 
our position, notwithstanding [a collective bargaining agreement to the 
contrary], that an agency may not turn down a request from an employee 
for compensatory time off unless it would impose an unreasonable burden 
on the agency's ability to provide service of acceptable quality and 
quantity for the public during the time requested without the use of 
the employee's service. The fact that overtime may be required of one 
employee to permit another employee to use compensatory time off would 
not be a sufficient reason for an employer to claim that the 
compensatory time off request is unduly disruptive.'').

    Court decisions regarding public-sector compensatory time 
have also shown that the ``unduly disrupt'' standard is narrow 
and does not allow an employer to control an employee's use of 
compensatory time off. In Heitmann v. City of Chicago, the 
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that Section 7(o) of the 
FLSA and the Department of Labor's corresponding regulations 
require an employer to grant compensatory time off on the date 
and time requested by an employee, unless doing so would cause 
undue disruption.\32\ The court noted that requiring an 
employer to honor an employee's specific request for 
compensatory time off, absent undue disruption of the 
employer's operations, appropriately ``makes compensatory leave 
more attractive to workers and hence a more adequate substitute 
for money, the Fair Labor Standards Act's principal response to 
overtime work.''\33\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \32\560 F.3d 642, 646 (7th Cir. 2009). But see Mortensen v. County 
of Sacramento, 368 F.3d 298 (9th Cir. 2004) (finding that the public-
sector compensatory time provisions require only that an employee be 
allowed to use compensatory time off within a ``reasonable period'' of 
the date requested for such leave, unless doing so would ``unduly 
disrupt'' the agency's operations); Houston Policy Officers Union v. 
City of Houston, 330 F.3d 298 (5th Cir. 2003) (same).
    \33\Heitmann, 560 F.3d at 647.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Similarly, in Beck v. City of Cleveland, the Sixth Circuit 
Court of Appeals found that ``to grant the City the unlimited 
discretion to deny compensatory leave requests relieves the 
City of establishing the undue disruption requirement imposed 
by Congress.''\34\ As a result, the court held that the 
plaintiffs-police officers' ``compensatory leave requests must 
be granted absent `clear and affirmative evidence' of an undue 
disruption of the City's provision of police services for its 
citizens.''\35\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \34\390 F.3d 912, 925 (6th Cir. 2005).
    \35\Id. at 926; see also DeBraska v. City of Milwaukee, 131 F. 
Supp. 2d 1032 (E.D. Wis. 2000) (deferring to the Department of Labor's 
interpretation of its regulations as requiring that an employee's 
specific compensatory time off requested must be granted absent undue 
disruption of the employer's operations).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also notes that the ``unduly disrupt'' 
standard included in H.R. 1180 is similar to the standard in 
the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that limits an 
employee's ability to take leave for medical treatments for the 
employee or a member of his or her family (``the employee shall 
make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to 
disrupt unduly the operations of the employer'').\36\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \36\29 U.S.C. Sec. 2612(e). As one district court said in 
construing these provisions of the FMLA, ``The FMLA also does not give 
employees the unfettered right to take time off subject only to their 
own convenience without any consideration of its effect upon the 
employer.'' Kaylor v. Fannin Regional Hospital, 946 F.Supp. 988, 999 
(N.D. Ga. 1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Given the long history of this language in the FLSA with 
regard to compensatory time in the public sector, and the 
inclusion of similar language in the FMLA, it is simply 
dishonest for the opponents of private-sector use of 
compensatory time to claim that H.R. 1180 allows the employer 
to control when compensatory time off is used. The employer's 
ability to deny compensatory time off under H.R. 1180 is very 
limited. But the employer must be able to maintain its 
operations. If that ability is not reflected in the law, then 
no employer will offer compensatory time as an option for 
employees, and the Committee's efforts to respond to employees' 
desires to have this flexibility will be of no effect. 
Furthermore, providing for an employee's use of compensatory 
time off without any regard to workload or business demands is 
simply unfair to the employee's coworkers, who in many cases 
would have to handle the workload of the absent employee. Just 
as was the case in 1985 when workers in the public sector were 
permitted to choose compensatory time. H.R. 1180 seeks ``to 
balance the employee's right to make use of comp time that has 
been earned and the employer's need for flexibility in 
operations.''\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \37\Report on S. 1570, Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U.S. 
Senate, 99th Congress, First Session, Senate Report No. 99-159 at 11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enforcement and remedies

    As an amendment to the FLSA, the compensatory time 
provisions in H.R. 1180 are subject to the applicable 
enforcement and remedies of the FLSA. Currently under the FLSA, 
Section 15(a)(2) makes it unlawful for any person to violate 
any provision of Section 7, of which the compensatory time 
provisions of H.R. 1180 would be a part.\38\ In addition, 
Section 15(a)(3) makes it unlawful to ``discharge or in any 
other manner discriminate against any employee because such 
employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be 
instituted any proceeding under or related to'' the employee's 
rights under the FLSA.\39\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \38\29 U.S.C. Sec. 215(a)(2).
    \39\Id. Sec. 215(a)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Section 16(b) of the FLSA authorizes an action by an 
employee against his or her employer for any violations of 
Section 7.\40\ The suit may be filed in any federal or state 
court. An employee may also file a complaint with the 
Department of Labor. The Department of Labor generally attempts 
to resolve such complaints; however, the Department of Labor 
may also sue the employer for damages on behalf of the employee 
or employees whose rights were violated, or may also seek 
injunctive relief.\41\ Section 16(e) also authorizes the 
Secretary of Labor to seek civil penalties of up to $1,925 per 
violation against an employer who ``willfully or repeatedly'' 
violates Section 7.\42\ In any action in which the employee has 
been wrongfully denied overtime compensation, the FLSA 
authorizes damages equal to the amount of the unpaid 
compensation required by the FLSA and an equal amount as 
liquidated damages;\43\ liquidated damages may be reduced or 
eliminated if the court finds that the employer acted in good 
faith and had reasonable grounds for believing that he or she 
was in compliance with the FLSA.\44\ In any action brought by 
an employee, the employee may also be paid for his or her 
attorneys' fees and costs.\45\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \40\Id. Sec. 216(b).
    \41\Id. Sec. 217.
    \42\Id. Sec. 216(e).
    \43\Id. Sec. 216(b).
    \44\Id. Sec. 260.
    \45\Id. Sec. 216(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To be clear, H.R. 1180 retains all of the enforcement 
mechanisms and remedies that currently exist under the FLSA. 
H.R. 1180 also includes a provision prohibiting an employer 
from directly or indirectly intimidating, threatening, 
coercing, or attempting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any 
employee for purposes of interfering with the employee's right 
to take or not take compensatory time off in lieu of cash 
overtime, or to use accrued compensatory time. Curiously, 
opponents of compensatory time have claimed that H.R. 1180 
would allow employers to force employees to take compensatory 
time against their will or to use accrued compensatory time at 
the employer's convenience. Those claims are contrary to the 
plain language of the bill.
    The language of H.R. 1180 prohibiting intimidation, 
threats, and coercion, or attempts thereto, is identical to 
prohibitory language applicable to federal employees under the 
FMLA\46\ and the Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work 
Schedules Act.\47\ The term ``intimidate, threaten, or coerce'' 
has been defined under those laws as ``promising to confer or 
conferring any benefit (such as appointment, promotion, or 
compensation), or taking or threatening to take any reprisal 
(such as deprivation of appointment, promotion, or 
compensation).''\48\ Thus, H.R. 1180 prohibits an employer, for 
example, from forcing employees to take compensatory time off 
in lieu of monetary compensation by offering overtime hours 
only to employees who ask for compensation in the form of 
compensatory time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \46\5 U.S.C. Sec. 6385.
    \47\Id. Sec. 6132.
    \48\Id. Sec. 6385.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The bill also creates a new remedy under the FLSA 
applicable to employers who violate the anti-coercion language 
just described. Section 3 of H.R. 1180 provides that an 
employer who violates the anti-coercion provision shall be 
liable to the employee for the employee's rate of compensation 
for each hour of compensatory time accrued and an equal amount 
as liquidated damages. If the employee has already used some or 
all of the compensatory time, the amount to be paid as damages 
is reduced by that amount.
    Opponents of compensatory time have claimed that, while it 
may be prohibited conduct under H.R. 1180, there is no sanction 
in H.R. 1180 for an employer who either forces an employee to 
take compensatory time off or denies the employee the right to 
use accrued compensatory time. In both cases these claims are 
wrong. An employee who is unlawfully forced to take 
compensatory time off may receive the amount of the employee's 
compensation for each hour of compensatory time plus an equal 
amount of liquidated damages, less the amount of compensation 
the employee has already received for those hours of 
compensatory time. The Committee expects that the Department of 
Labor will make use of the regulatory process to clarify the 
application of the remedies provisions contained in H.R. 1180 
to these and other potential scenarios.
    In addition, there is a ``self-policing'' aspect: the 
employee retains his or her compensation and can demand to cash 
out at his or her current rate of pay or the rate when the time 
was earned, whichever is higher. In short, the employer does 
not benefit by denying the employee the use of his or her 
compensatory time, and where necessary, there are effective 
sanctions under the bill and the FLSA for employers who violate 
the employee protections and other provisions of H.R. 1180.

GAO report

    As detailed above, an amendment offered by then-Rep. Gibson 
passed the House during Floor debate in the 113th Congress on 
H.R. 1406. Language from the amendment was included in H.R. 
1180 as introduced, which requires GAO to report two years 
after the bill's enactment, and each of the three years 
thereafter, on the use of compensatory time in the private 
sector. GAO must provide information on the extent to which 
employers are providing compensatory time and the extent to 
which employees voluntarily select compensatory time. In 
addition, the report will include an accounting of the number 
of complaints alleging compensatory time violations filed with 
the Secretary of Labor, enforcement actions commenced by the 
Secretary, the status of such complaints and actions, and an 
account of any unpaid wages, damages, penalties, injunctive 
relief, or other remedies obtained or sought by the Secretary, 
in connection with such actions. This information will assist 
Congress in evaluating the private-sector's use of compensatory 
time and further inform oversight of the rules related to such 
use.

Conclusion

    For many Americans, balancing the demands of family and 
work can be difficult. Each worker faces a unique set of 
challenges and responsibilities, be it caring for an aging 
relative, attending a parent-teacher conference, or seeing a 
son or daughter deploy overseas. Government employees have long 
been able to choose paid time off as compensation for working 
overtime hours, allowing these public-sector employees greater 
flexibility to meet family obligations. However, the federal 
government prohibits private-sector workers from enjoying this 
same benefit. H.R. 1180 removes this obstacle in federal law.
    Opponents of H.R. 1180 continue to ignore the legislation's 
basic principle: worker choice. Under the legislation, workers 
choose whether to accept compensatory time; workers choose when 
to withdraw from a compensatory time agreement; workers choose 
when to cash out their accrued compensatory time; and workers 
choose when to use their paid time off so long as they follow 
the same guidelines public employees do. The Working Families 
Flexibility Act of 2017 is commonsense, pro-worker legislation 
that helps American workers better balance the needs of family 
and the workplace.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short title

    This Act may be cited as the Working Families Flexibility 
Act of 2017.

Section 2. Compensatory time

    An employee may receive, in lieu of monetary overtime 
compensation, compensatory time off at a rate not less than one 
and one-half hours for each hour of overtime worked.
    An employer may provide compensatory time to employees only 
if such time is in accordance with the applicable provisions of 
a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and the 
labor organization that has been certified or recognized as the 
representative of the employees under applicable law.
    In the case of employees who are not represented by a labor 
organization that has been certified or recognized as the 
representative of such employees under applicable law, there 
must be an agreement arrived at between the employer and 
employee before the performance of the work and affirmed by a 
written or otherwise verifiable record maintained in accordance 
with Section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, in which 
the employer has offered and the employee has chosen to receive 
compensatory time in lieu of monetary overtime compensation; 
such agreement must be entered into knowingly and voluntarily 
by such employee and not as a condition of employment. An 
employee may not agree to receive compensatory time unless that 
employee has worked 1,000 hours in continuous employment with 
the employer in the 12-month period prior to the date of the 
agreement or receipt of compensatory time.
    An employee may accrue not more than 160 hours of 
compensatory time. Not later than January 31 of each calendar 
year, the employee's employer shall provide monetary 
compensation for any unused compensatory time accrued during 
the preceding calendar year that was not used prior to December 
31 of the preceding year. Monetary compensation must be 
provided at the regular rate earned when the compensatory time 
was accrued or at the regular rate earned when the monetary 
compensation was provided, whichever is higher. An employer may 
designate and communicate to the employees a 12-month period 
other than the calendar year, in which case compensation shall 
be provided not later than 31 days after the end of the 12-
month period.
    An employer may provide monetary compensation for an 
employee's unused compensatory time in excess of 80 hours at 
any time after giving the employee at least 30 days' notice. 
The compensation shall be provided at the regular rate earned 
when the compensatory time was accrued or the regular rate 
earned when the monetary compensation was provided, whichever 
is higher.
    Except where a collective bargaining agreement provides 
otherwise, an employer that has adopted a policy offering 
compensatory time to employees may discontinue such policy upon 
giving employees 30 days' notice.
    An employee may withdraw from an agreement or understanding 
to accrue compensatory time at any time. An employee may also 
request in writing that monetary compensation be provided, at 
any time, for all compensatory time accrued that has not yet 
been used. Within 30 days of receipt of the written request, 
the employer shall provide the employee with the monetary 
compensation at a rate received when the compensatory time was 
accrued or at the regular rate when the monetary compensation 
was provided, whichever is higher.
    An employer that provides compensatory time to employees 
shall not directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, or 
coerce or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any 
employee for the purpose of interfering with such employee's 
rights to request or not request compensatory time off in lieu 
of payment of monetary overtime compensation for overtime 
hours, or requiring any employee to use such compensatory time.
    An employee who has accrued compensatory time off shall, 
upon the voluntary or involuntary termination of employment, be 
paid for such unused compensatory time.
    If compensation is to be paid to an employee for accrued 
compensatory time off, the compensation will be paid at a rate 
not less than the regular rate earned by an employee when the 
compensatory time was accrued or the regular rate earned by 
such employee when the monetary compensation was provided, 
whichever is higher.
    Any payment owed to an employee for unused compensatory 
time shall be considered to be unpaid overtime compensation.
    An employee who has accrued compensatory time off and has 
requested the use of such compensatory time shall be permitted 
by the employee's employer to use such time within a reasonable 
period after making the request if the use of the compensatory 
time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
    For the purposes of this subsection, the term employee does 
not include an employee of a public agency.
    For the purposes of this subsection, the terms overtime 
compensation and compensatory time shall have the meanings 
given by Section (7)(o)(7) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Section 3. Remedies

    An employer that violates the anti-coercion provisions 
(Section 7(s)(4)) of this Act shall be liable to the employee 
affected in the amount of the rate of compensation (determined 
in accordance with Section 7(s)(6)(A)) for each hour of 
compensatory time accrued by the employee and an additional 
equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced by the amount of 
such rate of compensation for each hour of compensatory time 
used by the employee.

Section 4. Notice to employees

    Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall revise the materials 
provided to employers for purposes of a notice explaining the 
Fair Labor Standards Act to employees so that the notice 
reflects the amendments made by this bill to the Act.

Section 5. GAO report

    Beginning two years after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
a report to Congress providing data concerning the extent to 
which employers provide compensatory time and the extent to 
which employees opt to receive compensatory time; the number of 
complaints alleging a violation of the Act's provisions; the 
number of enforcement actions commenced by the Secretary or 
initiated by the Secretary on behalf of any employee for 
alleged violations of the Act; the disposition or status of 
such complaints and actions; and an account of any unpaid 
wages, damages, penalties, injunctive relief, or other remedies 
obtained or sought by the Secretary in conjunction with such 
actions.

Section 6. Sunset

    This Act and all amendments made by this Act shall expire 
five years after its enactment.

                       Explanation of Amendments

    The amendments, including the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, are explained in the body of this report.

              Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch. H.R. 1180 amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
to provide compensatory time for employees in the private 
sector.

                       Unfunded Mandate Statement

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement of 
whether the provisions of the reported bill include unfunded 
mandates. This issue is addressed in the CBO letter.

                           Earmark Statement

    H.R. 1180 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of House rule XXI.

                            Roll Call Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee Report to include for 
each record vote on a motion to report the measure or matter 
and on any amendments offered to the measure or matter the 
total number of votes for and against and the names of the 
Members voting for and against.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    In accordance with clause (3)(c) of House rule XIII, the 
goal of H.R. 1180 is provide compensatory time for employees in 
the private sector.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    No provision of H.R. 1180 establishes or reauthorizes a 
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of 
another Federal program, a program that was included in any 
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program 
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    The committee estimates that enacting H.R. 1180 does not 
specifically direct the completion of any specific rule makings 
within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 551.

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in the body of this report.

               New Budget Authority and CBO Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the committee has received 
the following estimate for H.R. 1180 from the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, April 27, 2017.
Hon. Virginia Foxx,
Chairwoman, Committee on Education and the Workforce,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Chairwoman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1180, the Working 
Families Flexibility Act of 2017.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Christina 
Hawley Anthony.
            Sincerely,
                                              Keith Hall, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1180--Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017

    H.R. 1180 would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
to provide compensatory time for employees in the private 
sector. In lieu of overtime pay, employees could receive 
compensatory time off at a rate of not less than one and one-
half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime pay 
would otherwise have been required. Such compensatory time 
could be provided only in accordance with a collective 
bargaining agreement or with the consent of affected employees. 
The bill also would require the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to report to the Congress about the extent to 
which employers provide such compensatory time as well as the 
number of complaints alleging violations of the provisions and 
the disposition of those complaints, including any enforcement 
actions. The changes would be effective for five years after 
enactment of the bill. Based on the cost of similar activities 
by GAO, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost 
less than $500,000 annually; such spending would be subject to 
the availability of appropriated funds.
    CBO estimates enacting H.R. 1180 would not affect direct 
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do 
not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1180 would not 
increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of 
the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 1180 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Christina Hawley 
Anthony. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the 
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 1180. 
However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                             maximum hours

  Sec. 7. (a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, 
no employer shall employ any of his employees 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 
workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives 
compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above 
specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the 
regular rate at which he is employed.
  (2) No employer shall employ any of his employees 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, and who in 
such workweek is brought within the purview of this subsection 
by the amendments made to this Act by the Fair Labor Standards 
Amendments of 1966--
          (A) for a workweek longer than forty-four hours 
        during the first year from the effective date of the 
        Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1966,
          (B) for a workweek longer than forty-two hours during 
        the second year from such date, or
          (C) for a workweek longer than forty hours after the 
        expiration of the second year from such date,
unless such employee receives compensation for his employment 
in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than 
one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is 
employed.
  (b) No employer shall be deemed to have violated subsection 
(a) by employing any employee for a workweek in excess of that 
specified in such subsection without paying the compensation 
for overtime employment prescribed therein if such employee is 
so employed--
          (1) in pursuance of an agreement, made as a result of 
        collective bargaining by representatives of employees 
        certified as bona fide by the National Labor Relations 
        Board, which provides that no employee shall be 
        employed more than one thousand and forty hours during 
        any period of twenty-six consecutive weeks, or
          (2) in pursuance of an agreement, made as a result of 
        collective bargaining by representatives of employees 
        certified as bona fide by the National Labor Relations 
        Board which provides that during a specified period of 
        fifty-two consecutive weeks the employee shall be 
        employed not more than two thousand two hundred and 
        forty hours and shall be guaranteed not less than one 
        thousand eight hundred and forty hours (or not less 
        than forty-six weeks at the normal number of hours 
        worked per week, but not less than thirty hours per 
        week) and not more than two thousand and eighty hours 
        of employment for which he shall receive compensation 
        for all hours guaranteed or worked at rates not less 
        than those applicable under the agreement to the work 
        performed and for all hours in excess of the guaranty 
        which are also in excess of the maximum workweek 
        applicable to such employee under subsection (a) or two 
        thousand and eighty in such period at rates not less 
        than one and one-half times the regular rate at which 
        he is employed; or
          (3) by an independently owned and controlled local 
        enterprise (including an enterprise with more than one 
        bulk storage establishment) engaged in the wholesale or 
        bulk distribution of petroleum products if--
                  (A) the annual gross volume of sales of such 
                enterprise is less than $1,000,000 exclusive of 
                excise taxes.
                  (B) more than 75 per centum of such 
                enterprise's annual dollar volume of sales is 
                made within the State in which such enterprise 
                is located, and
                  (C) not more than 25 per centum of the annual 
                dollar volume of sales of such enterprise is to 
                customers who are engaged in the bulk 
                distribution of such products for resale;
and if such employee receives compensation for employment in 
excess of twelve hours in any workday, or for employment in 
excess of fifty-six hours in any workweek, as the case may be, 
at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate 
at which he is employed.
  (e) As used in this section the ``regular rate'' at which an 
employee is employed shall be deemed to include all 
remuneration for employment paid to, or on behalf of, the 
employee, but shall not be deemed to include--
          (1) sums paid as gifts; payments in the nature of 
        gifts made at Christmas time or on other special 
        occasions, as a reward for service, the amounts of 
        which are not measured by or dependent on hours worked, 
        production, or efficiency;
          (2) payments made for occasional periods when no work 
        is performed due to vacation, holiday, illness, failure 
        of the employer to provide sufficient work or other 
        similar cause; reasonable payments for traveling 
        expenses, or other expenses, incurred by an employee in 
        the furtherance of his employer's interests and 
        properly reimburseable by the employer; and other 
        similar payments to any employee which are not made as 
        compensation for his hours of employment;
          (3) sums paid in recognition of services performed 
        during a given period if either, (a) both the fact that 
        payment is to be made and the amount of the payment are 
        determined at the sole discretion of the employer at or 
        near the end of the period and not pursuant to any 
        prior contract, agreement, or promise causing the 
        employee to expect such payments regularly; or (b) the 
        payments are made pursuant to a bona fide profit-
        sharing plan or trust or bona fide thrift or savings 
        plan, meeting the requirements of the Secretary of 
        Labor set forth in appropriate regulations which he 
        shall issue, having due regard among other relevant 
        facts, to the extent to which the amounts paid to the 
        employee are determined without regard to hours of 
        work, production, or efficiency; or (c) the payments 
        are talent fees (as such talent fees are defined and 
        delimited by regulations of the Secretary) paid to 
        performers, including announcers, on radio and 
        television programs;
          (4) contributions irrevocably made by an employer to 
        a trustee or third person pursuant to a bona fide plan 
        for providing old-age retirement, life, accident, or 
        health insurance or similar benefits for employees;
          (5) extra compensation provided by a premium rate 
        paid for certain hours worked by the employee in any 
        day or workweek because such hours are hours worked in 
        excess of eight in a day or in excess of the maximum 
        workweek applicable to such employee under subsection 
        (a) or in excess of the employee's normal working hours 
        or regular working hours, as the case may be;
          (6) extra compensation provided by a premium rate 
        paid for work by the employee on Saturdays, Sundays, 
        holidays, or regular days of rest, or on the sixth or 
        seventh day of the workweek, where such premium rate is 
        not less than one and one-half times the rate 
        established in good faith for like work performed in 
        nonovertime hours on other days;
          (7) extra compensation provided by a premium rate 
        paid to the employee, in pursuance of an applicable 
        employment contract or collective-bargaining agreement, 
        for work outside of the hours established in good faith 
        by the contract or agreement as the basic, normal, or 
        regular workday (not exceeding eight hours) or workweek 
        (not exceeding the maximum workweek applicable to such 
        employee under subsection (a)), where such premium rate 
        is not less than one and one-half times the rate 
        established in good faith by the contract or agreement 
        for like work performed during such workday or 
        workweek; or
          (8) any value or income derived from employer-
        provided grants or rights provided pursuant to a stock 
        option, stock appreciation right, or bona fide employee 
        stock purchase program which is not otherwise 
        excludable under any of paragraphs (1) through (7) if--
                  (A) grants are made pursuant to a program, 
                the terms and conditions of which are 
                communicated to participating employees either 
                at the beginning of the employee's 
                participation in the program or at the time of 
                the grant;
                  (B) in the case of stock options and stock 
                appreciation rights, the grant or right cannot 
                be exercisable for a period of at least 6 
                months after the time of grant (except that 
                grants or rights may become exercisable because 
                of an employee's death, disability, retirement, 
                or a change in corporate ownership, or other 
                circumstances permitted by regulation), and the 
                exercise price is at least 85 percent of the 
                fair market value of the stock at the time of 
                grant;
                  (C) exercise of any grant or right is 
                voluntary; and
                  (D) any determinations regarding the award 
                of, and the amount of, employer-provided grants 
                or rights that are based on performance are--
                          (i) made based upon meeting 
                        previously established performance 
                        criteria (which may include hours of 
                        work, efficiency, or productivity) of 
                        any business unit consisting of at 
                        least 10 employees or of a facility, 
                        except that, any determinations may be 
                        based on length of service or minimum 
                        schedule of hours or days of work; or
                          (ii) made based upon the past 
                        performance (which may include any 
                        criteria) of one or more employees in a 
                        given period so long as the 
                        determination is in the sole discretion 
                        of the employer and not pursuant to any 
                        prior contract.
  (f) No employer shall be deemed to have violated subsection 
(a) by employing any employee for a workweek in excess of the 
maximum workweek applicable to such employee under subsection 
(a) if such employee is employed pursuant to a bona fide 
individual contract, or pursuant to an agreement made as a 
result of collective bargaining by representatives of 
employees, if the duties of such employee necessitate irregular 
hours of work, and the contract or agreement (1) specifies a 
regular rate of pay of not less than the minimum hourly rate 
provided in subsection (a) or (b) of section 6 (whichever may 
be applicable) and compensation at not less than one and one-
half times such rate for all hours worked in excess of such 
maximum workweek, and (2) provides a weekly guaranty of pay for 
not more than sixty hours based on the rates so specified.
  (g) No employer shall be deemed to have violated subsection 
(a) by employing any employee for a workweek in excess of the 
maximum workweek applicable to such employee under such 
subsection if, pursuant to an agreement or understanding 
arrived at between the employer and the employee before 
performance of the work, the amount paid to the employee for 
the number of hours worked by him in such workweek in excess of 
the maximum workweek applicable to such employee under such 
subsection--
          (1) in the case of an employee employed at piece 
        rates, is computed at piece rates not less than one and 
        one-half times the bona fide piece rates applicable to 
        the same work when performed during nonovertime hours; 
        or
          (2) in the case of an employee performing two or more 
        kinds of work for which different hourly or piece rates 
        have been established, is computed at rates not less 
        than one and one-half times such bona fide rates 
        applicable to the same work when performed during 
        nonovertime hours; or
          (3) is computed at a rate not less than one and one-
        half times the rate established by such agreement or 
        understanding as the basic rate to be used in computing 
        overtime compensation thereunder: Provided, That the 
        rate so established shall be authorized by regulation 
        by the Secretary of Labor as being substantially 
        equivalent to the average hourly earnings of the 
        employee, exclusive of overtime premiums, in the 
        particular work over a representative period of time;
and if (i) the employee's average hourly earnings for the 
workweek exclusive of payments described in paragraphs (1) 
through (7) of subsection (e) are not less than the minimum 
hourly rate required by applicable law, and (ii) extra overtime 
compensation is properly computed and paid on other forms of 
additional pay required to be included in computing the regular 
rate.
  (h)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), sums excluded 
from the regular rate pursuant to subsection (e) shall not be 
creditable toward wages required under section 6 or overtime 
compensation required under this section.
  (2) Extra compensation paid as described in paragraphs (5), 
(6), and (7) of subsection (e) shall be creditable toward 
overtime compensation payable pursuant to this section.
  (i) No employer shall be deemed to have violated subsection 
(a) by employing any employee of a retail or service 
establishment for a workweek in excess of the applicable 
workweek specified therein, if (1) the regular rate of pay of 
such employee is in excess of one and one-half times the 
minimum hourly rate applicable to him under section 6, and (2) 
more than half his compensation for a representative period 
(not less than one month) represents commissions on goods or 
services. In determining the proportion of compensation 
representing commissions, all earnings resulting from the 
application of a bona fide commission rate shall be deemed 
commissions on goods or services without regard to whether the 
computed commissions exceed the draw or guarantee.
  (j) No employer engaged in the operation of a hospital or an 
establishment which is an institution primarily engaged in the 
care of the sick, the aged, or the mentally ill or defective 
who reside on the premises shall be deemed to have violated 
subsection (a) if, pursuant to an agreement or understanding 
arrived at between the employer and the employee before 
performance of the work, a work period of fourteen consecutive 
days is accepted in lieu of the workweek of seven consecutive 
days for purposes of overtime computation and if, for his 
employment in excess of eight hours in any workday and in 
excess of eighty hours in such fourteen-day period, the 
employee receives compensation at a rate of not less than one 
and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.
  (k) No public agency shall be deemed to have violated 
subsection (a) with respect to the employment of any employee 
in fire protection activities or any employee in law 
enforcement activities (including security personnel in 
correctional institutions) if--
          (1) in a work period of 28 consecutive days the 
        employee receives for tours of duty which in the 
        aggregate exceed the lesser of (A) 216 hours, or (B) 
        the average number of hours (as determined by the 
        Secretary pursuant to section 6(c)(3) of the Fair Labor 
        Standards Amendments of 1974) in tours of duty of 
        employees engaged in such activities in work periods of 
        28 consecutive days in calendar year 1975; or
          (2) in the case of such employee to whom a work 
        period of at least 7 but less than 28 days applies, in 
        his work period the employee receives for tours of duty 
        which in the aggregate exceed a number of hours which 
        bears the same ratio to the number of consecutive days 
        in his work period as 216 hours (or if lower, the 
        number of hours referred to in clause (B) of paragraph 
        (1)) bears to 28 days;
compensation at a rate not less than one and one-half times the 
regular rate at which he is employed.
  (l) No employer shall employ any employee in domestic service 
in one or more households for a workweek longer than forty 
hours unless such employee receives compensation for such 
employment in accordance with subsection (a).
  (m) For a period or periods of not more than fourteen 
workweeks in the aggregate in any calendar year, any employer 
may employ any employee for a workweek in excess of that 
specified in subsection (a) without paying the compensation for 
overtime employment prescribed in such subsection, if such 
employee--
          (1) is employed by such employer--
                  (A) to provide services (including stripping 
                and grading) necessary and incidental to the 
                sale at auction of green leaf tobacco of type 
                11, 12, 13, 14, 21, 22, 23, 24, 31, 35, 36, or 
                37 (as such types are defined by the Secretary 
                of Agriculture), or in auction sale, buying, 
                handling, stemming, redrying, packing, and 
                storing of such tobacco,
                  (B) in auction sale, buying, handling, 
                sorting, grading, packing, or storing green 
                leaf tobacco of type 32 (as such type is 
                defined by the Secretary of Agriculture), or
                  (C) in auction sale, buying, handling, 
                stripping, sorting, grading, sizing, packing, 
                or stemming prior to packing, of perishable 
                cigar leaf tobacco of type 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 
                46, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 61, or 62 (as such 
                types are defined by the Secretary of 
                Agriculture); and
          (2) receives for--
                  (A) such employment by such employer which is 
                in excess of ten hours in any workday, and
                  (B) such employment by such employer which is 
                in excess of forty-eight hours in any workweek,
        compensation at a rate not less than one and one-half 
        times the regular rate at which he is employed.
An employer who receives an exemption under this subsection 
shall not be eligible for any other exemption under this 
section.
  (n) In the case of an employee of an employer engaged in the 
business of operating a street, suburban or interurban electric 
railway or local trolley or motorbus carrier (regardless of 
whether or not such railway or carrier is public or private or 
operated for profit or not for profit), in determining the 
hours of employment of such an employee to which the rate 
prescribed by subsection (a) applies there shall be excluded 
the hours such employee was employed in charter activities by 
such employer if (1) the employee's employment in such 
activities was pursuant to an agreement or understanding with 
his employer arrived at before engaging in such employment, and 
(2) if employment in such activities is not part of such 
employee's regular employment.
  (o)(1) Employees of a public agency which is a State, a 
political subdivision of a State, or an interstate governmental 
agency may receive, in accordance with this subsection and in 
lieu of overtime compensation, compensatory time off at a rate 
not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of 
employment for which overtime compensation is required by this 
section.
  (2) A public agency may provide compensatory time under 
paragraph (1) only--
          (A) pursuant to--
                  (i) applicable provisions of a collective 
                bargaining agreement, memorandum of 
                understanding, or any other agreement between 
                the public agency and representatives of such 
                employees; or
                  (ii) in the case of employees not covered by 
                subclause (i), an agreement or understanding 
                arrived at between the employer and employee 
                before the performance of the work; and
          (B) if the employee has not accrued compensatory time 
        in excess of the limit applicable to the employee 
        prescribed by paragraph (3).
In the case of employees described in clause (A)(ii) hired 
prior to April 15, 1986, the regular practice in effect on 
April 15, 1986, with respect to compensatory time off for such 
employees in lieu of the receipt of overtime compensation, 
shall constitute an agreement or understanding under such 
clause (A)(ii). Except as provided in the previous sentence, 
the provision of compensatory time off to such employees for 
hours worked after April 14, 1986, shall be in accordance with 
this subsection.
  (3)(A) If the work of an employee for which compensatory time 
may be provided included work in a public safety activity, an 
emergency response activity, or a seasonal activity, the 
employee engaged in such work may accrue not more than 480 
hours of compensatory time for hours worked after April 15, 
1986. If such work was any other work, the employee engaged in 
such work may accrue not more than 240 hours of compensatory 
time for hours worked after April 15, 1986. Any such employee 
who, after April 15, 1986, has accrued 480 or 240 hours, as the 
case may be, of compensatory time off shall, for additional 
overtime hours of work, be paid overtime compensation.
  (B) If compensation is paid to an employee for accrued 
compensatory time off, such compensation shall be paid at the 
regular rate earned by the employee at the time the employee 
receives such payment.
  (4) An employee who has accrued compensatory time off 
authorized to be provided under paragraph (1) shall, upon 
termination of employment, be paid for the unused compensatory 
time at a rate of compensation not less than--
          (A) the average regular rate received by such 
        employee during the last 3 years of the employee's 
        employment, or
          (B) the final regular rate received by such employee,
whichever is higher
  (5) An employee of a public agency which is a State, 
political subdivision of a State, or an interstate governmental 
agency--
          (A) who has accrued compensatory time off authorized 
        to be provided under paragraph (1), and
          (B) who has requested the use of such compensatory 
        time,
shall be permitted by the employee's employer to use such time 
within a reasonable period after making the request if the use 
of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations 
of the public agency.
  (6) The hours an employee of a public agency performs court 
reporting transcript preparation duties shall not be considered 
as hours worked for the purposes of subsection (a) if--
          (A) such employee is paid at a per-page rate which is 
        not less than--
                  (i) the maximum rate established by State law 
                or local ordinance for the jurisdiction of such 
                public agency,
                  (ii) the maximum rate otherwise established 
                by a judicial or administrative officer and in 
                effect on July 1, 1995, or
                  (iii) the rate freely negotiated between the 
                employee and the party requesting the 
                transcript, other than the judge who presided 
                over the proceedings being transcribed, and
          (B) the hours spent performing such duties are 
        outside of the hours such employee performs other work 
        (including hours for which the agency requires the 
        employee's attendance) pursuant to the employment 
        relationship with such public agency.
For purposes of this section, the amount paid such employee in 
accordance with subparagraph (A) for the performance of court 
reporting transcript preparation duties, shall not be 
considered in the calculation of the regular rate at which such 
employee is employed.
  (7) For purposes of this subsection--
          (A) the term ``overtime compensation'' means the 
        compensation required by subsection (a), and
          (B) the terms ``compensatory time'' and 
        ``compensatory time off'' mean hours during which an 
        employee is not working, which are not counted as hours 
        worked during the applicable workweek or other work 
        period for purposes of overtime compensation, and for 
        which the employee is compensated at the employee's 
        regular rate.
  (p)(1) If an individual who is employed by a State, political 
subdivision of a State, or an interstate governmental agency in 
fire protection or law enforcement activities (including 
activities of security personnel in correctional institutions) 
and who, solely at such individual's option, agrees to be 
employed on a special detail by a separate or independent 
employer in fire protection, law enforcement, or related 
activities, the hours such individual was employed by such 
separate and independent employer shall be excluded by the 
public agency employing such individual in the calculation of 
the hours for which the employee is entitled to overtime 
compensation under this section if the public agency--
          (A) requires that its employees engaged in fire 
        protection, law enforcement, or security activities be 
        hired by a separate and independent employer to perform 
        the special detail,
          (B) facilitates the employment of such employees by a 
        separate and independent employer, or
          (C) otherwise affects the condition of employment of 
        such employees by a separate and independent employer.
  (2) If an employee of a public agency which is a State, 
political subdivision of a State, or an interstate governmental 
agency undertakes, on an occasional or sporadic basis and 
solely at the employee's option, part-time employment for the 
public agency which is in a different capacity from any 
capacity in which the employee is regularly employed with the 
public agency, the hours such employee was employed in 
performing the different employment shall be excluded by the 
public agency in the calculation of the hours for which the 
employee is entitled to overtime compensation under this 
section.
  (3) If an individual who is employed in any capacity by a 
public agency which is a State, political subdivision of a 
State, or an interstate governmental agency, agrees, with the 
approval of the public agency and solely at the option of such 
individual, to substitute during scheduled work hours for 
another individual who is employed by such agency in the same 
capacity, the hours such employee worked as a substitute shall 
be excluded by the public agency in the calculation of the 
hours for which the employee is entitled to overtime 
compensation under this section.
  (q) Any employer may employ any employee for a period or 
periods of not more than 10 hours in the aggregate in any 
workweek in excess of the maximum workweek specified in 
subsection (a) without paying the compensation for overtime 
employment prescribed in such subsection, if during such period 
or periods the employee is receiving remedial education that 
is--
          (1) provided to employees who lack a high school 
        diploma or educational attainment at the eighth grade 
        level;
          (2) designed to provide reading and other basic 
        skills at an eighth grade level or below; and
          (3) does not include job specific training.
  (r)(1) An employer shall provide--
          (A) a reasonable break time for an employee to 
        express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year 
        after the child's birth each time such employee has 
        need to express the milk; and
          (B) a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded 
        from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and 
        the public, which may be used by an employee to express 
        breast milk.
  (2) An employer shall not be required to compensate an 
employee receiving reasonable break time under paragraph (1) 
for any work time spent for such purpose.
  (3) An employer that employs less than 50 employees shall not 
be subject to the requirements of this subsection, if such 
requirements would impose an undue hardship by causing the 
employer significant difficulty or expense when considered in 
relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure 
of the employer's business.
  (4) Nothing in this subsection shall preempt a State law that 
provides greater protections to employees than the protections 
provided for under this subsection.
  (s) Compensatory Time Off for Private Employees.--
          (1) General rule.--An employee may receive, in 
        accordance with this subsection and in lieu of monetary 
        overtime compensation, compensatory time off at a rate 
        not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of 
        employment for which overtime compensation is required 
        by this section.
          (2) Conditions.--An employer may provide compensatory 
        time to employees under paragraph (1) only if such time 
        is provided in accordance with--
                  (A) applicable provisions of a collective 
                bargaining agreement between the employer and 
                the labor organization that has been certified 
                or recognized as the representative of the 
                employees under applicable law; or
                  (B) in the case of an employee who is not 
                represented by a labor organization that has 
                been certified or recognized as the 
                representative of such employee under 
                applicable law, an agreement arrived at between 
                the employer and employee before the 
                performance of the work and affirmed by a 
                written or otherwise verifiable record 
                maintained in accordance with section 11(c)--
                          (i) in which the employer has offered 
                        and the employee has chosen to receive 
                        compensatory time in lieu of monetary 
                        overtime compensation; and
                          (ii) entered into knowingly and 
                        voluntarily by such employee and not as 
                        a condition of employment.
        No employee may receive or agree to receive 
        compensatory time off under this subsection unless the 
        employee has worked at least 1,000 hours for the 
        employee's employer during a period of continuous 
        employment with the employer in the 12-month period 
        before the date of agreement or receipt of compensatory 
        time off.
          (3) Hour limit.--
                  (A) Maximum hours.--An employee may accrue 
                not more than 160 hours of compensatory time.
                  (B) Compensation date.--Not later than 
                January 31 of each calendar year, the 
                employee's employer shall provide monetary 
                compensation for any unused compensatory time 
                off accrued during the preceding calendar year 
                that was not used prior to December 31 of the 
                preceding year at the rate prescribed by 
                paragraph (6). An employer may designate and 
                communicate to the employer's employees a 12-
                month period other than the calendar year, in 
                which case such compensation shall be provided 
                not later than 31 days after the end of such 
                12-month period.
                  (C) Excess of 80 hours.--The employer may 
                provide monetary compensation for an employee's 
                unused compensatory time in excess of 80 hours 
                at any time after giving the employee at least 
                30 days notice. Such compensation shall be 
                provided at the rate prescribed by paragraph 
                (6).
                  (D) Policy.--Except where a collective 
                bargaining agreement provides otherwise, an 
                employer that has adopted a policy offering 
                compensatory time to employees may discontinue 
                such policy upon giving employees 30 days 
                notice.
                  (E) Written request.--An employee may 
                withdraw an agreement described in paragraph 
                (2)(B) at any time. An employee may also 
                request in writing that monetary compensation 
                be provided, at any time, for all compensatory 
                time accrued that has not yet been used. Within 
                30 days of receiving the written request, the 
                employer shall provide the employee the 
                monetary compensation due in accordance with 
                paragraph (6).
          (4) Private employer actions.--An employer that 
        provides compensatory time under paragraph (1) to an 
        employee shall not directly or indirectly intimidate, 
        threaten, or coerce or attempt to intimidate, threaten, 
        or coerce any employee for the purpose of--
                  (A) interfering with such employee's rights 
                under this subsection to request or not request 
                compensatory time off in lieu of payment of 
                monetary overtime compensation for overtime 
                hours; or
                  (B) requiring any employee to use such 
                compensatory time.
          (5) Termination of employment.--An employee who has 
        accrued compensatory time off authorized to be provided 
        under paragraph (1) shall, upon the voluntary or 
        involuntary termination of employment, be paid for the 
        unused compensatory time in accordance with paragraph 
        (6).
          (6) Rate of compensation.--
                  (A) General rule.--If compensation is to be 
                paid to an employee for accrued compensatory 
                time off, such compensation shall be paid at a 
                rate of compensation not less than--
                          (i) the regular rate earned by such 
                        employee when the compensatory time was 
                        accrued; or
                          (ii) the regular rate earned by such 
                        employee at the time such employee 
                        received payment of such compensation,
                whichever is higher.
                  (B) Consideration of payment.--Any payment 
                owed to an employee under this subsection for 
                unused compensatory time shall be considered 
                unpaid overtime compensation.
          (7) Use of time.--An employee--
                  (A) who has accrued compensatory time off 
                authorized to be provided under paragraph (1); 
                and
                  (B) who has requested the use of such 
                compensatory time,
        shall be permitted by the employee's employer to use 
        such time within a reasonable period after making the 
        request if the use of the compensatory time does not 
        unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
          (8) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                  (A) the term ``employee'' does not include an 
                employee of a public agency; and
                  (B) the terms ``overtime compensation'' and 
                ``compensatory time'' shall have the meanings 
                given such terms by subsection (o)(7).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                               penalties

  Sec. 16. (a) Any person who willfully violates any of the 
provisions of section 15 shall upon conviction thereof be 
subject to a fine of not more than $10,000, or to imprisonment 
for not more than six months, or both. No person shall be 
imprisoned under this subsection except for an offense 
committed after the conviction of such person for a prior 
offense under this subsection.
  [(b) Any employer] (b) Except as provided in subsection (f), 
any employer who violates the provisions of section 6 or 
section 7 of this Act shall be liable to the employee or 
employees affected in the amount of their unpaid minimum wages, 
or the unpaid overtime compensation, as the case may be, and in 
an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. Any employer 
who violates the provisions of section 15(a)(3) of this Act 
shall be liable for such legal or equitable relief as may be 
appropriate to effectuate the purposes of section 15(a)(3), 
including without limitation employment, reinstatement, 
promotion, and the payment of wages lost and an additional 
equal amount as liquidated damages. An action to recover the 
liability prescribed in either of the preceding sentences may 
be maintained against any employer (including a public agency) 
in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by any 
one or more employees for and in behalf of himself or 
themselves and other employees similarly situated. No employees 
shall be a party plaintiff to any such action unless he gives 
his consent in writing to become such a party and such consent 
is filed in the court in which such action is brought. The 
court in such action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded 
to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, allow a reasonable attorney's 
fee to be paid by the defendant, and costs of the action. The 
right provided by this subsection to bring an action by or on 
behalf of any employee, and the right of any employee to become 
a party plaintiff to any such action, shall terminate upon the 
filing of a complaint by the Secretary of Labor in an action 
under section 17 in which (1) restraint is sought of any 
further delay in the payment of unpaid minimum wages, or the 
amount of unpaid overtime compensation, as the case may be, 
owing to such employee under section 6 or section 7 of this act 
by an employer liable therefor under the provisions of this 
subsection or (2) legal or equitable relief is sought as a 
result of alleged violations of section 15(a)(3).
  (c) The Secretary is authorized to supervise the payment of 
the unpaid minimum wages or the unpaid overtime compensation 
owing to any employee or employees under section 6 or 7 of this 
Act, and the agreement of any employee to accept such payment 
shall upon payment in full constitute a waiver by such employee 
of any right he may have under subsection (b) of this section 
to such unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation 
and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. The 
Secretary may bring an action in any court of competent 
jurisdiction to recover the amount of the unpaid minimum wages 
or overtime compensation and an equal amount as liquidated 
damages. The right provided by subsection (b) to bring an 
action by or on behalf of any employee to recover the liability 
specified in the first sentence of such subsection and of any 
employee to become a party plaintiff to any such action shall 
terminate upon the filing of a complaint by the Secretary in an 
action under this subsection in which a recovery is sought of 
unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation under 
sections 6 and 7 or liquidated or other damages provided by 
this subsection owing to such employee by an employer liable 
under the provisions of subsection (b), unless such action is 
dismissed without prejudice on motion of the Secretary. Any 
sums thus recovered by the Secretary on behalf of an employee 
pursuant to this subsection shall be held in a special deposit 
account and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, directly 
to the employee or employees affected. Any such sums not paid 
to an employee because of inability to do so within a period of 
three years shall be covered into the Treasury of the United 
States as miscellaneous receipts. In determining when an action 
is commenced by the Secretary under this subsection for the 
purposes of the statutes of limitations provided in section 
6(a) of the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947, it shall be 
considered to be commenced in the case of any individual 
claimant on the date when the complaint is filed if he is 
specifically named as a party plaintiff in the complaint, or if 
his name did not so appear, on the subsequent date on which his 
name is added as a party plantiff in such action.
  (d) In any action or proceeding commenced prior to, on, or 
after the date of enactment of this subsection, no employer 
shall be subject to any liability or punishment under this Act 
or the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 on account of his failure 
to comply with any provision or provisions of such Acts (1) 
with respect to work heretofore or hereafter performed in a 
workplace to which the exemption in section 13(f) is 
applicable, (2) with respect to work performed in Guam, the 
Canal Zone, or Wake Island before the effective date of this 
amendment of subsection (d), or (3) with respect to work 
performed in a possession named in section 6(a)(3) at any time 
prior to the establishment by the Secretary, as provided 
therein, of a minimum wage rate applicable to such work.
  (e)(1)(A) Any person who violates the provisions of sections 
12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued 
pursuant to such sections, shall be subject to a civil penalty 
not to exceed--
                          (i) $11,000 for each employee who was 
                        the subject of such a violation; or
                          (ii) $50,000 with regard to each such 
                        violation that causes the death or 
                        serious injury of any employee under 
                        the age of 18 years, which penalty may 
                        be doubled where the violation is a 
                        repeated or willful violation.
  (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ``serious 
injury'' means--
          (i) permanent loss or substantial impairment of one 
        of the senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, tactile 
        sensation);
          (ii) permanent loss or substantial impairment of the 
        function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, 
        including the loss of all or part of an arm, leg, foot, 
        hand or other body part; or
          (iii) permanent paralysis or substantial impairment 
        that causes loss of movement or mobility of an arm, 
        leg, foot, hand or other body part.
  (2) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates section 6 
or 7, relating to wages, shall be subject to a civil penalty 
not to exceed $1,100 for each such violation.
  (3) In determining the amount of any penalty under this 
subsection, the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of 
the business of the person charged and the gravity of the 
violation shall be considered. The amount of any penalty under 
this subsection, when finally determined, may be--
          (A) deducted from any sums owing by the United States 
        to the person charged;
          (B) recovered in a civil action brought by the 
        Secretary in any court of competent jurisdiction, in 
        which litigation the Secretary shall be represented by 
        the Solicitor of Labor; or
          (C) ordered by the court, in an action brought for a 
        violation of section 15(a)(4) or a repeated or willful 
        violation of section 15(a)(2), to be paid to the 
        Secretary.
  (4) Any administrative determination by the Secretary of the 
amount of any penalty under this subsection shall be final, 
unless within 15 days after receipt of notice thereof by 
certified mail the person charged with the violation takes 
exception to the determination that the violations for which 
the penalty is imposed occurred, in which event final 
determination of the penalty shall be made in an administrative 
proceeding after opportunity for hearing in accordance with 
section 554 of title 5, United States Code, and regulations to 
be promulgated by the Secretary.
  (5) Except for civil penalties collected for violations of 
section 12, sums collected as penalties pursuant to this 
section shall be applied toward reimbursement of the costs of 
determining the violations and assessing and collecting such 
penalties, in accordance with the provision of section 2 of the 
Act entitled ``An Act to authorize the Department of Labor to 
make special statistical studies upon payment of the cost 
thereof and for other purposes'' (29 U.S.C. 9a). Civil 
penalties collected for violations of section 12 shall be 
deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.
  (f) An employer that violates section 7(s)(4) shall be liable 
to the employee affected in the amount of the rate of 
compensation (determined in accordance with section 7(s)(6)(A)) 
for each hour of compensatory time accrued by the employee and 
in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages reduced by 
the amount of such rate of compensation for each hour of 
compensatory time used by such employee.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                             MINORITY VIEWS

    Committee Democrats oppose H.R. 1180. This legislation 
would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to allow 
private sector employers to enter into voluntary arrangements 
with their employees to ``compensate'' them with compensatory 
time off (``comp time'') in lieu of overtime pay. Instead of 
paying workers overtime (time-and-a-half for every hour that 
they work beyond forty in a week), this legislation permits 
employers to pay employees in comp time (one and one-half hours 
of paid time off for every hour that they work over forty at 
the employee's regular rate). The legislation provides no 
guarantee, however, that workers can take the time off when 
they actually need it.
    H.R. 1180 undermines the vital protections in the Fair 
Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by making it cheaper for employers 
to require their employees to work excessive hours and legal 
for employers to deny workers their overtime pay. It also 
undermines enforcement of our wage and hour laws. Yet H.R. 1180 
is being advanced by House Republicans as a ``pro-family, pro-
worker proposal.''\1\ Unfortunately, rather than presenting 
this Committee with legislation that would actually benefit 
working families, the Majority has championed legislation that 
provides a way for employers to give their employees a pay cut. 
H.R. 1180 has been rejected in many previous Congresses, and it 
has never advanced beyond the House.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Fact Sheet: Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017, United 
States House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the 
Workforce--Republicans (Apr. 24, 2017), available at http://
edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401576.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Instead of considering H.R. 1180, Congress should pass 
legislation that both protects workers' overtime pay and 
promotes needed flexibility in the workplace. Democrats have 
proposed legislation that would raise the minimum wage, ensure 
equal pay for equal work, guarantee paid sick days and paid 
family and medical leave, and provide flexible and predictable 
schedules. These are the solutions that would make a real 
difference in the lives of working Americans, rather than a 
proposal that undermines bedrock worker protections and costs 
workers much-needed overtime compensation.

                      THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT

    In the 1930s, Congress recognized the need for legislation 
to address the widespread ``labor conditions detrimental to the 
maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for 
health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers.''\2\ 
This concern ultimately led to the passage of the FLSA in 1938, 
which still stands as one of the crowning achievements of the 
New Deal. This crucial law establishes a federal minimum wage, 
restricts the use of child labor, and sets standards for when 
employers must pay workers overtime.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\29 U.S.C. Sec. 202(a).
    \3\29 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 201-217.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Seventy-nine years after its enactment, the FLSA remains 
the nation's basic law governing wages and hours of work. There 
are three main protections afforded to workers under this 
critical law: (1) a basic minimum wage, (2) a limit on the 
number of hours an employer may require from an employee before 
being subject to an overtime premium, and (3) a prohibition on 
most forms of child labor.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\29 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 201-219.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The maximum hours and overtime provisions are set out in 
Section 7 of the FLSA. Currently, the law requires employers to 
compensate all covered employees for any time that they work in 
excess of forty hours in a week at a rate of no less than one-
and-a-half times their regular wage rate.\5\ Although the limit 
on hours compensable at the regular wage rate is firmly set at 
forty, there is nonetheless substantial flexibility in how 
these hours are allotted over the course of a week.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\29 U.S.C. Sec. 207(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    There are two primary purposes behind setting a maximum 
hour limit and subjecting further hours to an overtime premium: 
discouraging overwork and spreading employment. Congress sought 
to lessen the burden on workers that comes from working an 
``intolerable'' number of hours in a given week.\6\ By charging 
a premium for extra work hours, employers are discouraged from 
overworking their employees. The other purpose behind the 
overtime wage premium is economic in nature--spreading 
employment, thereby spurring hiring and reducing the 
unemployment rate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Annual Message to Congress 
(Jan. 3, 1938), available at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/
index.php?pid= 15517.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As originally enacted, the FLSA contained no provisions 
allowing employers to offer comp time in lieu of overtime 
wages. However, Congress changed this when it passed the Fair 
Labor Standards Amendments of 1985, which introduced a limited 
system of comp time for public-sector employees.\7\ Section 
7(o) of the FLSA now provides that state and federal public 
sector workers are eligible for comp time in lieu of overtime 
wages, with the comp time to accumulate at a rate of one and 
half times the number of hours worked.\8\ As applied to federal 
employees, the regulations require that accrued comp time be 
used by the end of the 26th pay period (one year) after the pay 
period during which the overtime hours were worked.\9\ 
Congress's intention in adding this provision was to provide 
cost savings in government budgets, as the overtime wage 
premium was more expensive than providing workers with 
compensatory time off.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\Pub. L. No. 99-150.
    \8\29 U.S.C. Sec. 207.
    \9\Fact Sheet: Compensatory Time Off, Office of Personnel 
Management, available at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay- 
leave/pay-administration/fact-sheets/compensatory-time-off; see also 5 
C.F.R. Sec. 550.114.
    \10\Ross Eisenbrey, The Naked Truth About Comp Time, Economic 
Policy Institute, at 5-6 (Mar. 31, 2003), available at http://
www.epi.org/page/-/old/issuebriefs/ib190/ib190.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

            PAST EFFORTS TO REPLACE OVERTIME WITH COMP TIME

    The ideas presented by the Majority in H.R. 1180 are not 
new. Committee Republicans have sponsored numerous virtually 
identical bills, each of which would have weakened overtime 
protections through the use of comp time. None of these bills 
have come close to being enacted into law.
           In 1995, Republicans introduced H.R. 2391, 
        the Working Families Flexibility Act of 1996. This bill 
        was reported out of Committee and passed the House on a 
        nearly party-line vote. It was not considered by the 
        Senate.
           In 1997, Republicans introduced H.R. 1, the 
        Working Families Flexibility Act of 1997, which sought 
        to amend the FLSA to extend comp time to the private 
        sector. This bill passed the House and was not 
        considered by the Senate.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\H.R. 1, available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-
105hr1eh/pdf/BILLS-105hr1eh.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
           In 1999, Republicans introduced, H.R. 1380, 
        the Working Families Flexibility Act and no further 
        action was taken.
           In 2001, Republicans introduced H.R. 1982, 
        the Working Families Flexibility Act, and the 
        Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held two hearings 
        on the issue.
           In 2003, Republicans introduced H.R. 1119, 
        the so-called Family Time Flexibility Act, which again 
        proposed extending comp time to the private sector. 
        This bill was reported out of Committee and no further 
        action was taken.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\H.R. 1119, available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-
108hr1119rh/pdf/BILLS-108hr1119rh.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
           In 2008, Republicans introduced H.R. 6025, 
        the Family Friendly Workplace Act, a nearly identical 
        comp time bill. No further action was taken.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\H.R. 6025, available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-
110hr6025ih/pdf/BILLS-110hr6025ih.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
           In 2009, Republicans introduced H.R. 933, 
        which was a reintroduction of the 2008 Family Friendly 
        Workplace Act. No further action was taken.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\H.R. 933, available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-
111hr933ih/pdf/BILLS-111hr933ih.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
           In 2013, Republicans introduced H.R. 1406, 
        the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, the first 
        version of the bill introduced by Rep. Martha Roby.\15\ 
        This bill passed the House on a nearly party-line vote, 
        and it was not considered by the Senate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\H.R. 1406, available at https://www.congress.gov/ bill/ 113th-
congress/ house-bill/ 1406/ related-bills.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
           In 2015, Republicans introduced H.R. 465, 
        the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2015. No 
        further action was taken.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\H.R. 465, available at https://www.congress.gov/ bill/ 114th-
congress/ house-bill/ 465?q= %7B %22search %22 %3A %5B 
%22Working+Families +Flexibility+ Act+of+ 2015 %22 %5D%7D&r=1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
           In 2017, Republicans introduced H.R. 1180, 
        the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017. This bill 
        was reported out of Committee on a party-line vote, 
        with all Democrats opposing the legislation.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \17\H.R. 1180, available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-
congress/house-bill/ 1180?q= %7B %22search %22 %3A %5B 
%22Working+Families+ Flexibility+ Act+of+2017 %22 %5D %7D&r=3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Each comp time bill has met firm opposition from worker 
advocates and women's organizations that recognized the harm 
these proposals would inflict upon working families. The 
following organizations sent letters to the Committee in 
opposition to H.R. 1180: 9-5, the American Federation of State, 
County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Center for Law and 
Social Policy (CLASP), the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), 
Family Values @ Work, the Leadership Conference on Civil and 
Human Rights (LCCR), the National Employment Law Project 
(NELP), the National Women's Law Center (NWLC), the Service 
Employees International Union (SEIU), the International 
Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial 
Workers (UFCW), and the United Steelworkers (USW). The National 
Partnership for Women & Families led a letter with signatures 
from 85 organizations.

            THE REAL IMPACT OF H.R. 1180 ON WORKING FAMILIES

    H.R. 1180 forces working people to choose between their 
hard-earned pay and time with their families, when they need 
both. Democrats have real solutions to the challenges facing 
working families that would not force them to make this 
impossible choice. Hardworking Americans should have access to 
basic benefits such as paid sick days, family leave and fair 
schedules. But H.R. 1180 does nothing to increase workers' 
access to these important benefits. Meanwhile, it creates 
significant uncertainty for workers.
H.R. 1180 undermines workers' ability to earn overtime pay
    H.R. 1180 makes it less likely that workers who need 
overtime pay will be able to get it. Some workers count on 
overtime pay to meet their expenses--including putting children 
through college, buying a home or saving for retirement. Among 
workers paid less than $22,500 a year, for example, roughly 40 
percent report working some overtime in the previous month 
voluntarily.\18\ Nothing in the legislation prohibits employers 
from preferentially assigning overtime hours to employees who 
agree to accept comp time. Since providing comp time is cheaper 
than providing overtime pay, employers are extremely likely to 
allocate overtime hours first to those employees who agree to 
accept comp time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\Lonnie Golden, Flexibility and Overtime Among Hourly and 
Salaried Workers (Sept. 30, 2014), available at http://www.epi.org/ 
publication/flexibility-overtime-hourly-salaried-workers/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While the legislation states that employees are free to 
choose whether to accept comp time, in practice, the power 
differential between employers and employees, particularly in 
non-union workplaces, would make it far more likely that some 
employees would feel obligated to accept comp time even when 
they would much rather get paid for their overtime in their 
next scheduled paycheck. While the legislation provides anti-
retaliation protections for employees who do not accept comp 
time, proving retaliation is extremely difficult and enforcing 
these provisions takes time and money that most overtime-
eligible employees do not have.
H.R. 1180 will lead to longer work hours and less flexibility for 
        overworked Americans
    For many working families, time is a precious commodity. In 
families where both parents work, being forced to spend more 
time at work in order to earn time with one's family imposes a 
significant hardship. But under H.R. 1180, an employee who 
needs to take a day off because she has caregiving 
responsibilities, school obligations, a health condition, or 
for any other reason, must first log overtime hours.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\At the same time, for some workers, working overtime is not 
even a possibility. A significant share of the workforce does not have 
access to overtime work. Four percent of the workforce--amounting to 
six million workers--worked part-time involuntarily in 2015. Lonnie 
Golden, Still Falling Short on Hours and Pay: Part-time Work Becoming 
New Normal (Dec. 5, 2016), available at http://www.epi.org/publication/
still-falling-short-on-hours-and-pay-part-time-work-becoming-new-
normal/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    More than 20 percent of the workforce currently reports 
working overtime on a mandatory basis.\20\ When workers are 
required to stay late at work, this can mean not being able to 
pick up a child from a child care center or administer a 
parent's dose of evening medications. Because this legislation 
makes it cheaper for employers to require employees to work 
overtime, it is likely to leave many workers with less control 
over their schedules and more mandatory overtime hours at 
work.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \20\Lonnie Golden, Flexibility and Overtime Among Hourly and 
Salaried Workers (Sept. 30, 2014), available at http://www.epi.org/
publication/flexibility-overtime-hourly-salaried-workers/.
    \21\Lonnie Golden, Flexibility and Overtime Among Hourly and 
Salaried Workers (Sept. 30, 2014), available at http://www.epi.org/
publication/flexibility-overtime-hourly-salaried-workers/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As discussed in further detail below, H.R. 1180 provides no 
guarantee that an employee can take comp time when she needs 
it--such as when she is sick, on a snow day when schools are 
closed, or to take a child to a doctor's appointment. To the 
contrary, H.R. 1180 provides significant discretion to 
employers to determine when comp time may be used. This 
uncertainty about whether and when an employee may take comp 
time would significantly constrain employees' ability to plan 
their lives outside of work.
    Contrary to the Majority's assertions, nothing in the FLSA 
prevents employers from providing flexibility to workers. Under 
current law, employers may provide workers with paid or unpaid 
leave, as well as flexible and predictable schedules. Yet, four 
in ten workers do not have a single paid sick day. And among 
early career-workers, more than 40 percent report getting their 
schedules less than one week in advance. The only constraint on 
employers' ability to offer paid time off or fair work 
schedules is their willingness to do so.

H.R. 1180 undermines enforcement of existing wage and hour laws

    Workers are cheated out of their overtime pay all too 
frequently. In a survey of low-wage workers, 76 percent of 
those who reported working overtime said that they were not 
paid time-and-a-half for their work.\22\ This legislation would 
greatly increase the complexity of enforcing overtime 
protections. It will be more difficult to determine if an 
overtime violation has occurred where an employer asserts that 
comp time was granted in lieu of overtime pay. Yet, the bill 
provides no new resources to ensure compliance even though 
DOL's resources to remedy wage theft are already woefully 
inadequate. Furthermore, while the legislation provides a 
private right of action, most employees who are denied overtime 
pay do not have the financial resources to hire a lawyer to 
bring suit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \22\Annette Bernhardt, et al., Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers, 
Fair Warning (Apr. 2014), available at https://www.fairwarning.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/04/Link3Shorter.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

H.R. 1180 puts workers' paychecks at risk unnecessarily

    H.R. 1180 creates additional, unnecessary risk for 
employees, because if an employer goes bankrupt before it has 
paid its employees the comp time they are owed, the employee 
may never recover her unpaid wages. Workers also risk losing up 
to 160 hours of overtime pay (the limit on overtime hours a 
worker can bank as comp time under this legislation) because 
their overtime is not put into escrow or a trust fund and could 
be lost if the employer goes out of business or declares 
bankruptcy. In 2013 alone, 400,000 small businesses closed.\23\ 
If an employer chooses, the employer may also cash out comp 
time earned in excess of 80 hours, scuttling an employee's 
planned surgery or parental leave. Finally, an employer can 
also make the unilateral decision to discontinue a comp time 
program, derailing an employee's planned time off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \23\U.S. Small Business Administration, ``Frequently Asked 
Questions,'' (Jun. 2016), available at https://www.sba.gov/sites/
default/files/advocacy/SB-FAQ-2016_WEB.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

H.R. 1180 provides an unsecured interest-free loan for employers

    Agreeing to be paid in comp time is tantamount to providing 
an employer with a zero-interest loan. While banking comp time 
with her employer, the employee is loaning her employer her 
wages, repayable only when the employer decides it's 
convenient, not when the employee actually needs the money or 
the time off from work. Meanwhile, the employer is free to 
invest the employee's withheld wages to the employer's 
advantage.
    In contrast, if workers were paid for their overtime hours 
in their next scheduled paycheck, they could put that money in 
an interest-earning bank account where it would grow. Workers 
would be better off getting paid for their overtime hours, 
setting that money safely aside in an interest-earning account, 
and self-funding leave at some point in the future, rather than 
using comp time.

              THE MAJORITY'S FLAWED PUBLIC-SECTOR ARGUMENT

    Proponents of H.R. 1180 argue that the legislation simply 
provides flexibility already available in the public sector to 
private sector workers. However, this argument ignores profound 
differences between public and private sector employers. 
Moreover, state and municipal employees only became eligible 
for comp time as a cost-saving policy that afforded employers 
the value of their employees' labor without being required to 
pay for it.
    H.R. 1180 extends all the benefits of employer-controlled 
comp time arrangements to private sector employers, yet makes 
no effort to achieve parity for private sector workers in terms 
of job protection or other benefits. At the same time, public 
sector workers generally enjoy many more employment protections 
than their private sector counterparts, and they are far more 
likely to have benefits like paid sick leave and vacation. In 
contrast to the job security that is often afforded to public 
sector workers, private sector workers are employed at-will and 
can be terminated for any reason other than race, gender or 
retaliation for exercising rights protected by employment laws 
such as the National Labor Relations Act.
    Union density in the public sector is also five to six 
times greater than in the private sector.\24\ This means that 
while public sector workers are likely to have some bargaining 
power, workers in the private sector are far more likely to 
feel coerced to accept comp time in lieu of overtime pay, and 
that the failure to do so would put their jobs at risk. 
Furthermore, workers represented by a union can get help if 
they feel that their employers are not implementing comp time 
fairly. Private sector workers without union representation 
will have no recourse other than going to court, a costly and 
time-consuming process with a very uncertain outcome.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\Economic News Release: Union Members Summary, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (Jan. 26, 2017), available at https://www.bls.gov/
news.release/union2.nr0.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, the litigation over the use of comp time in the 
public sector provides significant cause for concern about the 
potential for employer abuse of comp time in the private 
sector. The language in the FLSA permitting employers to 
provide comp time to public sector employees provides that the 
employer must permit the employee ``to use such time within a 
reasonable period after making the request if the use of the 
compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations'' of 
the public agency. This language is mirrored in H.R. 1180.
    Litigation over the interpretation of this provision has 
yielded unfavorable results for employees. For example, the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 
interpreted the law to give an employer absolute power to deny 
compensatory time requests on particular dates and to delay the 
use of compensatory time for up to one full year.\25\ Courts' 
deference to the employer's definition of ``reasonable period'' 
and when time off would ``unduly disrupt'' business operations 
suggests that under H.R. 1180 employers may prohibit employees 
from taking comp time when they need it--such as when they are 
sick, or a parent in need of help has a scheduled surgery.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \25\See Mortensen v. County of Sacramento, 368 F.3d 1082 (9th Cir. 
2004) (citing Houston Police Officers' Union v. City of Houston, 330 
F.3d 298 (5th Cir.2003) (cert. denied, 540 U.S. 879 (2003)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 APRIL 5, 2017 LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 1180 IN THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON 
                         WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS

    Employer representatives testified that they provided a 
wide range of workplace flexibility options to their employees, 
which are all permissible under the FLSA. Despite the extensive 
workplace flexibility options that are already consistent with 
the FLSA, they contended that the FLSA was outdated, and that 
it should be amended to permit comp time.
    The Democratic witness, Ms. Vicki Shabo, explained that 
H.R. 1180 does nothing to increase or guarantee flexibility for 
working people and it diminishes their ability to earn much-
needed overtime pay. As Ms. Shabo noted, while there are many 
businesses that voluntarily provide workplace flexibility 
options for their employees, there are still far too many 
workers who lack access to basic benefits like paid sick days, 
paid family leave, and flexible and predictable schedules. Ms. 
Shabo provided examples of how a typical worker would not 
benefit from comp time. She also explained that despite 
substantial gains in productivity over the past four decades, 
the typical worker's wages have barely grown. To guarantee 
workplace flexibility and fair pay for all working people, Ms. 
Shabo urged the committee to consider legislation such as the 
Healthy Families Act, the FAMILY Act, the Paycheck Fairness 
Act, the Schedules that Work Act, and legislation to raise the 
minimum wage.

           APRIL 26, 2017 FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP ON H.R. 1180

Full committee markup of H.R. 1180

    On April 26, 2017 the full committee marked up H.R. 1180, 
the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017. Committee 
Democrats offered amendments that would provide real solutions 
to the challenges facing working families.
    Rep. Blunt Rochester offered an amendment limiting the 
workers who are eligible for comp time under H.R. 1180 to those 
who have at least 7 days of paid sick leave. Permitting workers 
to take guaranteed paid time off when they are sick or to care 
for a sick family member is a critical solution to meet the 
needs of struggling families. Committee Democrats support the 
Healthy Families Act which, unlike H.R. 1180, would allow 
workers to earn and accrue sick days without compromising their 
overtime pay. However, this amendment was rejected by the 
Majority on a party-line vote. Two substitute amendments were 
also offered. Rep. DeSaulnier offered the Schedules that Work 
Act, which provides workers with flexible and predictable 
schedules, and Rep. Takano offered an amendment that would 
expand access to overtime pay for over 13 million working 
people. Unfortunately, Committee Republicans voted unanimously 
to block consideration of these amendments.
    Democrats also offered amendments designed to strengthen 
the protections for workers in H.R. 1180. These included an 
amendment offered by Rep. Adams to exempt compensatory time 
arrangements from mandatory arbitration clauses, an amendment 
offered by Rep. Wilson to exempt low-wage workers from comp 
time agreements, an amendment offered by Rep. Espaillat to 
exempt unscrupulous employers who have violated the FLSA 
willfully and repeatedly from comp time agreements, an 
amendment offered by Rep. Bonamici requiring that employers 
keep employees' comp time pay in an interest-bearing account, 
and an amendment offered by Rep. Shea-Porter to deter employers 
from coercing employees to accept comp time in lieu of overtime 
pay and prevent employers from cashing out employees' comp time 
in excess of 80 hours. Republicans rejected all of Democrats' 
efforts to strengthen the protections for working people in 
H.R. 1180.
    At the markup, Republican members contended that former 
President William Jefferson Clinton was supportive of comp time 
legislation. In fact, as Democrats noted, President William 
Jefferson Clinton issued a Statement of Administration Policy 
on March 15, 1997 opposing the legislation, which stated, in 
part:
    ``H.R. 1 purports to give working families greater 
flexibility. In reality, it grants employers more rights at the 
expense of working people:
           H.R. 1 fails to offer workers real choice. 
        In particular, H.R. 1 would allow an employer to decide 
        when a worker could use his or her compensatory time-
        off by disapproving such time-off if the employer 
        claims it would ``unduly disrupt'' its operations. In 
        addition, H.R. 1 would permit an employer to ``cash 
        out'' a worker's earned compensatory time over 80 
        hours.
           H.R. 1 fails to protect workers against 
        employer abuse. For example, H.R. 1 offers inadequate 
        protections for vulnerable workers and part-time, 
        seasonal, and temporary employees, including garment 
        and construction workers and those who are employed in 
        industries with histories of Fair Labor Standards Act 
        violations. H.R. 1 also fails to prohibit employers 
        from substituting compensatory time-off for paid 
        vacation or sick leave benefits. Furthermore, H.R. 1 
        lacks meaningful remedies for workers when employers 
        penalize them for electing to receive overtime pay in 
        lieu of compensatory time-off. In addition, H.R. 1 
        contains inadequate worker safeguards in cases where an 
        employer goes bankrupt or out-of-business.
           H.R. 1 fails to preserve workers' rights. 
        Workers who take compensatory time-off can be forced to 
        work additional overtime in the same week--even on the 
        weekend--without being paid overtime premium pay.''\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \26\Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 1, Working Families 
Flexibility Act (March 15, 1997), available at http://
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=74919.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    These arguments apply with equal force to H.R. 1180, which 
is substantially similar to H.R. 1, the comp time bill proposed 
in 1997.

              POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT WORKING FAMILIES NEED

    Workers depend on the wage and overtime protections in the 
FLSA, and they should not have to sacrifice their paychecks to 
take time off from work. Committee Democrats support an agenda 
for working families that would raise pay for hardworking 
Americans and help them juggle work and family life.

Working families need a raise

    Workers in 21 states still earn the federal minimum wage of 
$7.25 an hour which leaves a person who works full-time year-
round and has only one child living below the poverty 
threshold.\27\ In the coming weeks, Democrats will introduce 
legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2024. It's been 
nearly ten years since the last legislated increase to the 
minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would 
directly lift wages for 22.5 million workers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \27\Center for Poverty Research, University of California, Davis, 
``What are the annual earnings for a full-time minimum wage worker?'' 
(Updated Aug. 30, 2016), available at http://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/
what-are-annual-earnings-full-time-minimum-wage-worker.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Working families need strengthened overtime protections

    One of the reasons workers' wages have been stagnant for 
far too long is the failure to update the overtime threshold 
below which salaried workers are automatically eligible for 
overtime pay. In 1975, the overtime threshold covered 62 
percent of salaried workers, but today only 8 percent of 
workers are covered. The Department of Labor's overtime rule 
would have increased the salary threshold under which most 
workers are automatically eligible from for overtime pay from 
$23,660 to $47,476. This would make 4.2 million more workers 
eligible for overtime pay and strengthen overtime protections 
for 8.9 million more. This rule would ensure that low-paid 
assistant managers could no longer be forced to work 50, 60, or 
70 hours per week--the extra 10, 20, or 30 hours for free. Yet, 
Republicans introduced legislation in the last Congress to roll 
back this rule, and held a Committee hearing that was critical 
of the rule. The rule was blocked by a federal court before it 
took effect, and President Trump's Department of Labor sought 
repeated extensions of time to file its reply brief in the 
litigation, further delaying the rule.

Working families need paid sick leave

    The Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1286) would allow workers to 
earn paid sick leave to use when they are sick, to care for a 
sick family member, to obtain preventive care, or for reasons 
related to domestic violence. This is critical for the four in 
ten private sector workers who do not have access to a single 
paid sick day.\28\ Workers would earn one hour of paid sick 
time for every 30 hours worked. State and local laws that 
provide employees with paid sick days are also vitally 
important to working families. But no matter where they live, 
every worker should have the right to take a paid sick day for 
his own illness or to care for a family member. That is why 
Committee Democrats strongly support the Healthy Families Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \28\Fact Sheet: The Healthy Families Act, National Partnership for 
Women and Families (Apr. 2013), available at http://
go.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/
HFA_Expanded_Overview.pdf?docID=10741.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Working families need paid family and medical leave

    Only 14 percent of the workforce has paid family leave 
through their employers, and less than 40 percent have personal 
medical leave through an employer-provided short-term 
disability program. H.R. 1439, the Family and Medical Insurance 
Leave Act (the FAMILY Act) would provide employees with up to 
12 weeks of partial income replacement when they take time off 
for their own serious health conditions, including pregnancy 
and childbirth recovery; the serious health condition of a 
child, parent, spouse or domestic partner; the birth or 
adoption of a child; and/or for particular military caregiving 
and leave purposes. The FAMILY Act permits workers to earn up 
to 66 percent of their wages, and it is paid for through a 
joint payroll tax on employers and employees with payroll 
contributions in the amount of two-tenths of one percent (or 
two cents per $10 in wages).\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \29\Fact Sheet: The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, 
National Partnership for Women and Families (Feb. 2017), available at 
http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/work-family/paid-
leave/family-act-fact-sheet.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Working families need flexible and predictable schedules

    Inflexible and unpredictable schedules can make it 
extremely difficult for workers to both do their jobs and care 
for their families. Lack of control over schedules is a 
particular problem for low-wage workers. About half of low-wage 
workers report having little say in their schedules.\30\ And 
more than 40 percent of early career workers say they get their 
schedules only a week or less in advance.\31\ The Schedules 
that Work Act gives employees a say in when they work by 
creating a right to request a particular schedule, and 
protecting workers from retaliation for making scheduling 
requests.\32\ For workers in restaurant, retail, and building 
cleaning jobs--where schedules are most unpredictable--the 
legislation provides additional protections. The Schedules That 
Work Act would require employers to provide these employees 
with at least four hours of pay if they report to work but are 
sent home early without working their scheduled shift. The 
legislation also requires an additional hour of pay for 
employees assigned to work a split shift (a shift with an 
unpaid break of more than one hour). Finally, the legislation 
requires employers to provide two weeks' advance notice of work 
schedules to employees, and disclose the number of hours an 
employee can expect to be assigned to work when she is hired. 
If an employer makes changes to this work schedule with notice 
of only 24 hours or less in advance of the employee's shift, 
the bill requires the employer to provide one extra hour of 
pay.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \30\``Collateral Damage: Scheduling Challenges for Workers in Low-
Wage Jobs and Their Consequences,'' National Women's Law Center (Apr. 
2017), available at https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/
Collateral-Damage.pdf.
    \31\Id.
    \32\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Working families need equal pay

    The Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 1869, would strengthen the 
tools available to both identify and remedy pay discrimination 
which is still an all too persistent problem. Today, women 
working full-time year round are typically paid 80 cents for 
every dollar paid to their male counterparts.\33\ Black women 
are typically paid 63 cents and Latinas are paid just 54 cents 
for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.\34\ The 
Paycheck Fairness Act builds on the landmark Equal Pay Act 
signed into law in 1963 by closing loopholes that have kept it 
from achieving its goal of equal pay. The bill would require 
employers to show pay disparity is truly related to job-
performance--not gender. It also prohibits employer retaliation 
for sharing salary information with coworkers. Under current 
law employers can sue and punish employees for sharing such 
information. The legislation also prohibits employers from 
asking job applicants questions about their salary history for 
the purpose of making a salary offer, which is important to 
prevent pay discrimination from accompanying women from job to 
job. In addition, it strengthens remedies for pay 
discrimination by increasing the compensation women can seek, 
allowing them to not only seek back pay, but also punitive 
damages for pay discrimination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \33\Resource: Women and the Lifetime Wage Gap: How Many Woman Years 
Does it Take to Equal 40 Man Years?, National Women's Law Center (Mar. 
28, 2017), available at https://nwlc.org/resources/women-and-the-
lifetime-wage-gap-how-many-woman-years-does-it-take-to-equal-40-man-
years/.
    \34\Fact Sheet: America's Women and the Wage Gap, National 
Partnership of Women and Families (Apr. 2017), available at http://
www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-
pay/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               CONCLUSION

    H.R. 1180 does not create any meaningful new rights for 
employees. Employees can already take time off without pay, if 
they get permission from their employer. The bill does, 
however, create a new right for employers to withhold 
employees' overtime pay. Democrats have offered real solutions 
to the challenges facing working families that would not force 
them to make an impossible choice between money and time--when 
they need both. This Committee should bring up for 
consideration the legislation being offered by Democrats that 
would both raise workers' pay and help them better juggle work 
and family life.

                                   Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott,
                                           Ranking Member.
                                   Susan A. Davis.
                                   Raul M. Grijalva.
                                   Joe Courtney.
                                   Marcia L. Fudge.
                                   Jared Polis.
                                   Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan.
                                   Frederica S. Wilson.
                                   Suzanne Bonamici.
                                   Mark Takano.
                                   Alma S. Adams.
                                   Mark DeSaulnier.
                                   Donald Norcross.
                                   Lisa Blunt Rochester.
                                   Raja Krishnamoorthi.
                                   Carol Shea-Porter.
                                   Adriano Espaillat.

                                  [all]
```