II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 371 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to clarify the house 

parent exemption to certain wage and hour requirements. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24, 2007 

Mr. MARTINEZ (for himself and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to clarify 

the house parent exemption to certain wage and hour 

requirements. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Appropriate and Con5 sistent Care for Youth Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Private, nonprofit organizations dedicated 

9 to providing residential care and treatment for chilVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:29 Jan 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S371.IS S371

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1 dren have long been a vital part of the social service 

2 networks serving America’s communities. 

3 (2) No longer just serving orphans, these insti4 tutions tend to the needs of the ‘‘orphans of the liv5 ing’’, children and youth who are unable to remain 

6 in their natural homes due to emotional conflicts, 

7 life adjustment problems, relationship disturbances, 

8 and spiritual and psychological scarring associated 

9 with sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. 

10 (3) The effectiveness of these institutions in 

11 caring for these troubled and abused children has 

12 long been due to the love, care, and supervision pro13 vided by residential houseparents. 

14 (4) These houseparents volunteer to perma15 nently reside at the group home in which they work 

16 in order to create a family environment for those 

17 without a true sense of home, one that offers a 

18 structured atmosphere where these vulnerable youth 

19 can heal, grow, and become productive members of 

20 society. 

21 (5) Traditionally, these houseparents have re22 ceived food, lodging, insurance, and transportation 

23 free of charge, in addition to a fixed salary. 

24 (6) Congress recognized the unique role 

25 houseparents serve, and passed the Hershey ExempVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:26 Jan 29, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S371.IS S371

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1 tion (section 13(b)(24) of the Fair Labor Standards 

2 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212(b)(24))) in 1974 to as3 sist with the provision of houseparents for orphaned 

4 and disadvantaged youth by allowing for lodging and 

5 food provided free of cost to be considered when de6 termining an appropriate salary for married 

7 houseparents serving with their spouse at nonprofit 

8 educational institutions. 

9 (7) Since the addition of the Hershey Exemp10 tion, research shows that due to the negative experi11 ences some troubled youth have faced, they find a 

12 better environment for growth in having a single 

13 houseparent of the same sex. 

14 (8) Because the wage provision under the Her15 shey Exemption was extended only to married 

16 houseparents serving with their spouse, the Depart17 ment of Labor has enforced a rule that single 

18 houseparents need to be reimbursed on a 24-hour19 a-day basis, even for time they are sleeping or other20 wise not directly caring for residents of the home, 

21 and regardless of the provision of free lodging, food, 

22 and other services. 

23 (9) This has placed an undue financial burden 

24 on these nonprofit institutions who wish to provide 

25 the best possible care for their residents, forcing 


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1 some homes to close and others to adopt an employ2 ment model where ‘‘teams’’ of houseparents work 8- 

3 hour shifts to care for residents. This ‘‘team’’ model 

4 drives up the cost and destroys the family-like ar5 rangement of the home. 

6 (10) In order to provide for more appropriate 

7 and consistent care for these foster children and 

8 troubled youth, this Act seeks to extend the Hershey 

9 Exemption to single houseparents residing in edu10 cational institutions where they receive lodging and 

11 board free of charge. 

12 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT 

13 OF 1938. 

14 Section 13(b)(24) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 

15 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212(b)(24)) is amended— 

16 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

17 by striking ‘‘and his spouse’’; and 

18 (2) in the matter following subparagraph (B)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘and his spouse reside’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘resides’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘receive’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘receives’’; and 

23 (C) by striking ‘‘are together’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘is’’. 

Æ 


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