II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1989

To ensure that employees of traveling sales crews are protected under the

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and under other provisions of law.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 19, 1999

Mr. KOHL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To ensure that employees of traveling sales crews are protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

and under other provisions of law.

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 ‘‘Traveling Sales Crew

5 Protection Act’’.
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1 TITLE I—FAIR LABOR

2 STANDARDS ACT OF 1938

3 SEC. 101. APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS TO CERTAIN OUT4 SIDE SALESMAN.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13 of the Fair Labor

6 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213) is amended by

7 adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(k) For purposes of subsection (a)(1), and notwith9 standing any other provision of law, the term ‘outside

10 salesman’ shall not include any individual employed in the

11 position of a salesman where the individual travels with

12 a group of salespeople, including a supervisor, team leader

13 or crew leader, and the employees in the group do not re14 turn to their permanent residences at the end of the work

15 day.’’.

16 (b) LIMITATION ON CHILD LABOR.—Section 12 of

17 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212)

18 is amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(e) No individual under 18 years of age may be em20 ployed in a position requiring the individual to engage in

21 door to door sales or in related support work in a manner

22 that requires the individual to remain away from his or

23 her permanent residence for more than 24 hours.’’.

24 (c) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of

25 Labor may issue such rules and regulations as are nec-
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1 essary to carry out the amendments made by this section,

2 consistent with the requirements of chapter 5 of title 5,

3 United States Code.

4 TITLE II—PROTECTION OF

5 TRAVELING SALES CREWS

6 SEC. 201. PURPOSE.

7 It is the purpose of this title—

8 (1) to remove the restraints on interstate com9 merce caused by activities detrimental to traveling

10 sales crew workers;

11 (2) to require the employers of such workers to

12 register under this Act; and

13 (3) to assure necessary protections for such em14 ployees.

15 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

16 In this title:

17 (1) CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION.—The

18 term ‘‘Certificate of Registration’’ means a Certifi19 cate issued by the Secretary under section 203(c)(1).

20 (2) EMPLOY.—The term ‘‘employ’’ has the

21 meaning given such term by section 3(g) of the Fair

22 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201(g)).

23 (3) GOODS.—The term ‘‘goods’’ means wares,

24 products, commodities, merchandise, or articles or
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1 subjects of interstate commerce of any character, or

2 any part or ingredient thereof.

3 (4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any

4 individual, partnership, association, joint stock com5 pany, trust, cooperative, or corporation.

6 (5) SALE, SELL.—The terms ‘‘sale’’ or ‘‘sell’’

7 include any sale, exchange, contract to sell, consign8 ment for sale, shipment for sale, or other disposition

9 of goods.

10 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

11 the Secretary of Labor.

12 (7) TRAVELING SALES CREW WORKER.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

14 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘traveling sales

15 crew worker’’ means an individual who—

16 (i) is employed as a salesperson or in

17 related support work;

18 (ii) travels with a group of sales19 persons, including a supervisor; and

20 (iii) is required to be absent overnight

21 from his or her permanent place of resi22 dence.

23 (B) LIMITATION.—The term ‘‘traveling

24 sales crew worker’’ does not include—
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1 (i) any individual who meets the re2 quirements of subparagraph (A) if such in3 dividual is traveling to a trade show or

4 convention; or

5 (ii) any immediate family member of

6 a traveling sales crew employer.

7 SEC. 203. REGISTRATION OF EMPLOYERS AND SUPER8 VISORS OF TRAVELING SALES CREW WORK9 ERS.

10 (a) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall engage in

12 any form of employment of traveling sales crew

13 workers, unless such person has a certificate of reg14 istration from the Secretary.

15 (2) SUPERVISORS.—A traveling sales crew em16 ployer shall not hire, employ, or use any individual

17 as a supervisor of a traveling sales crew, unless such

18 individual has a certificate of registration from the

19 Secretary.

20 (3) DISPLAY OF CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRA21 TION.—Each registered traveling sales crew em22 ployer and each registered traveling sales crew su23 pervisor shall carry at all times while engaging in

24 traveling sales crew activities a certificate of reg25 istration from the Secretary and, upon request, shall
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1 exhibit that certificate to all persons with whom they

2 intend to deal.

3 (b) APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION.—Any person

4 desiring to be issued a certificate of registration from the

5 Secretary, as either a traveling sales crew employer or

6 traveling sales crew supervisor, shall file with the Sec7 retary a written application that contains the following:

8 (1) A declaration, subscribed and sworn to by

9 the applicant, stating the applicant’s permanent

10 place of residence, the type or types of sales activi11 ties to be performed, and such other relevant infor12 mation as the Secretary may require.

13 (2) A statement identifying each vehicle to be

14 used to transport any member of any traveling sales

15 crew and, if the vehicle is or will be owned or con16 trolled by the applicant, documentation showing that

17 the applicant is in compliance with the requirements

18 of section 204(d) with respect to each such vehicle.

19 (3) A statement identifying, with as much spec20 ificity as the Secretary may require, each facility or

21 real property to be used to house any member of any

22 traveling sales crew and, if the facility or real prop23 erty is or will be owned or controlled by the appli24 cant, documentation showing that the applicant is in
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1 compliance with section 204(e) with respect to each

2 such facility or real property.

3 (4) A set of fingerprints of the applicant.

4 (5) A declaration, subscribed and sworn to by

5 the applicant, consenting to the designation by a

6 court of the Secretary as an agent available to ac7 cept service of summons in any action against the

8 applicant, if the applicant has left the jurisdiction in

9 which the action is commenced or otherwise has be10 come unavailable to accept service.

11 (c) ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with regula13 tions, and after any investigation which the Sec14 retary may deem appropriate, the Secretary shall

15 issue a Certificate of Registration, as either a trav16 eling sales crew employer or traveling sales crew su17 pervisor, to any person who meets the standards for

18 such registration.

19 (2) REFUSAL TO ISSUE OR RENEW, SUSPEN20 SION AND REVOCATION.—The Secretary may refuse

21 to issue or renew, or may suspend or revoke, a Cer22 tificate of Registration if the applicant for or holder

23 or the Certificate—
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1 (A) has knowingly made any misrepresen2 tation in the application for such Certificate of

3 Registration;

4 (B) is not the real party in interest with

5 respect to the application or Certificate of Reg6 istration and the real party in interest is a per7 son who—

8 (i) has been refused issuance or re9 newal of a Certificate;

10 (ii) has had a Certificate suspended or

11 revoked; or

12 (iii) does not qualify for a Certificate

13 under this section;

14 (3) has failed to comply with this title or any

15 regulation promulgated under this title;

16 (4) has failed—

17 (A) to pay any court judgment obtained by

18 the Secretary or any other person under this

19 title or any regulation promulgated under this

20 title; or

21 (B) to comply with any final order issued

22 by the Secretary as a result of a violation of

23 this title or any regulation promulgated under

24 this title;
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1 (5) has been convicted within the 5 years pre2 ceding the date on which the application was filed or

3 the Certificate was issued—

4 (A) of any crime under Federal or State

5 law relating to the sale, distribution or posses6 sion of alcoholic beverages or narcotics, in con7 nection with or incident to any traveling sales

8 crew activities;

9 (B) of any crime under Federal or State

10 law relating to child abuse, neglect, or

11 endangerment; or

12 (C) of any felony under Federal or State

13 law involving robbery, bribery, extortion, embez14 zlement, grand larceny, burglary, arson, mur15 der, rape, assault with intent to kill, assault

16 which inflicts grievous bodily injury, prostitu17 tion, peonage, or smuggling or harboring indi18 viduals who have entered the United States ille19 gally;

20 (6) has been found to have violated paragraph

21 (1) or (2) of section 274A(a) of the Immigration and

22 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a) (1) or (2));

23 (7) has failed to comply with any bonding or se24 curity requirements as the Secretary may establish;

25 or
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1 (8) has failed to satisfy any other requirement

2 which the Secretary may by regulation establish.

3 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS AND JUDICIAL

4 REVIEW.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is refused the

6 issuance or renewal of a Certificate or Registration,

7 or whose Certificate of Registration is suspended or

8 revoked, shall be afforded an opportunity for an

9 agency hearing, upon a request made within 30 days

10 after the date of issuance of the notice of refusal,

11 suspension, or revocation. If no hearing is requested

12 as provided for in this subsection, the refusal, sus13 pension, or revocation shall constitute a final and

14 unappealable order.

15 (2) HEARING.—If a hearing is requested under

16 paragraph (1), the initial agency decision shall be

17 made by an administrative law judge, with all issues

18 to be determined on the record pursuant to section

19 554 of title 5, United States Code, and such decision

20 shall become the final order unless the Secretary

21 modifies or vacates the decision. Notice of intent to

22 modify or vacate the decision of the administrative

23 law judge shall be issued to the parties within 90

24 days after the decision of the administrative law

25 judge. A final order which takes effect under this
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1 paragraph shall be subject to review only as provided

2 under paragraph (3).

3 (3) REVIEW BY COURT.—Any person against

4 whom an order has been entered after an agency

5 hearing under this subsection may obtain review by

6 the United States district court for any district in

7 which the person is located, or the United States

8 District Court for the District of Columbia, by filing

9 a notice of appeal in such court within 30 days from

10 the date of such agency order, and simultaneously

11 sending a copy of such notice by registered mail to

12 the Secretary. The Secretary shall promptly certify

13 and file in such court the record upon which the

14 agency order was based. The findings of the Sec15 retary shall be set aside only if found to be unsup16 ported by substantial evidence as provided by section

17 706(2)(E) of title 5, United States code. Any final

18 decision, order, or judgment of such District Court

19 concerning such review shall be subject to appeal as

20 provided for in chapter 83 of title 28, United States

21 Code.

22 (e) TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT OF CERTIFICATE;

23 EXPIRATION; RENEWAL.—

24 (1) LIMITATION.—A Certificate of Registration

25 may not be transferred or assigned.
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1 (2) EXPIRATION AND EXTENSION.—

2 (A) EXPIRATION.—Unless earlier sus3 pended or revoked, a Certificate of Registration

4 shall expire 12 months from the date of

5 issuance.

6 (B) EXTENSION.—A Certificate of Reg7 istration may be temporarily extended, at the

8 Secretary’s discretion, by the filing of an appli9 cation with the Secretary at least 30 days prior

10 to the Certificate’s expiration date.

11 (3) RENEWAL.—A Certificate of Registration

12 may be renewed through the application process pro13 vided for in subsections (b) and (c).

14 (f) NOTICE OF ADDRESS CHANGE; AMENDMENT OF

15 CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION.—During the period for

16 which a Certificate of Registration is in effect, the trav17 eling sales crew employer or supervisor named on the Cer18 tificate shall—

19 (1) provide to the Secretary within 30 days a

20 notice of each change of permanent place of resi21 dence; and

22 (2) apply to the Secretary to amend the Certifi23 cate of Registration whenever the person intends

24 to—
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1 (A) engage in any form of traveling sales

2 crew activity not identified on the Certificate;

3 (B) use or cause to be used any vehicle not

4 covered by the Certificate to transport any trav5 eling sales crew worker; or

6 (C) use or cause to be used any facility or

7 real property not covered by the Certificate to

8 house any traveling sales crew worker.

9 (g) FILING FEE.—The Secretary shall require the

10 payment of a fee by an employer filing an application for

11 the issuance or renewal of a Certificate of Registration.

12 The amount of the fee shall be $500 for a Certificate for

13 an employer and $50 for a Certificate for a supervisor.

14 Sums collected pursuant to this section shall be applied

15 by the Secretary toward reimbursement of the costs of ad16 ministering this title.

17 SEC. 204. OBLIGATIONS OF EMPLOYERS OF TRAVELING

18 SALES CREW WORKERS.

19 (a) DISCLOSURE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF

20 EMPLOYMENT.—

21 (1) WRITTEN DISCLOSURE.—At the time of re22 cruitment, each traveling sales crew worker shall be

23 provided with a written disclosure of the following

24 information, which shall be accurate and complete to

25 the best of the employer’s knowledge:
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1 (A) The place or places of employment,

2 stated with as much specificity as possible.

3 (B) The wage rate or rates to be paid.

4 (C) The type or types of work on which

5 the worker may be employed.

6 (D) The period of employment.

7 (E) The transportation, housing, and any

8 other employee benefit to be provided, and any

9 costs to be charged to the worker for each such

10 benefit.

11 (F) The existence of any strike or other

12 concerted work stoppage, slowdown, or inter13 ruption of operations by employees at the place

14 of employment.

15 (G) Whether State workers’ compensation

16 insurance is provided and, if so, the name of

17 the State workers’ compensation insurance car18 rier, the name of the policyholder of such insur19 ance, the name and the telephone number of

20 each person who must be notified of an injury

21 or death, and the time period within which such

22 notice must be given.

23 (2) RECORDS AND STATEMENTS.—Each em24 ployer of traveling sales crew workers shall—
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1 (A) with respect to each such worker,

2 make, keep, and preserve records for 3 years of

3 the—

4 (i) basis on which wages are paid;

5 (ii) number of piecework units earned,

6 if paid on a piecework basis;

7 (iii) number of hours worked;

8 (iv) total pay period earnings;

9 (v) specific sums withheld and the

10 purpose of each sum withheld; and

11 (vi) net pay; and

12 (B) provide to each worker for each pay

13 period, an itemized written statement of the in14 formation required under subparagraph (A).

15 (b) PAYMENT OF WAGES WHEN DUE.—Each trav16 eling sales crew worker shall be paid the wages owed that

17 worker when due. The payment of wages shall be in

18 United States currency or in a negotiable instrument such

19 as a bank check. The payment of wages shall be accom20 panied by the written disclosure required by subsection

21 (a)(2)(B).

22 (c) COSTS OF GOODS, SERVICES, AND BUSINESS EX23 PENSES.—

24 (1) PROHIBITION.—No employer of traveling

25 sales crew workers shall—
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1 (A) require any worker to purchase any

2 goods or services solely from such employer; or

3 (B) impose on any worker any of the em4 ployer’s business expenses, such as the cost of

5 maintaining and operating a vehicle used to

6 transport the traveling sales crew.

7 (2) INCLUSION AS PART OF WAGES.—An em8 ployer may include as part of the wages paid to a

9 traveling sales crew worker the reasonable cost to

10 the employer of furnishing board, lodging, or other

11 facilities to such worker, so long as—

12 (A) such facilities are customarily fur13 nished by such employer to the employees of the

14 employer; and

15 (B) such cost does not exceed the fair mar16 ket value of such facility and does not include

17 any profit to the employer.

18 (d) SAFETY AND HEALTH IN TRANSPORTATION.—

19 (1) STANDARDS.—An employer of traveling

20 sales crew workers shall provide transportation for

21 such workers in a manner that is consistent with the

22 following standards:

23 (A) The employer shall ensure that each

24 vehicle which the employer uses or causes to be

25 used for such transportation conforms to the
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1 standards prescribed by the Secretary under

2 paragraph (2) and conforms to other applicable

3 Federal and State safety standards.

4 (B) The employer shall ensure that each

5 driver of each such vehicle has a valid and ap6 propriate license, as provided by State law, to

7 operate the vehicle.

8 (C) The employer shall have an insurance

9 policy or fidelity bond in accordance with sub10 section (c).

11 (2) PROMULGATION BY SECRETARY.—The Sec12 retary shall prescribe, by regulation, such safety and

13 health standards as may be appropriate for vehicles

14 used to transport traveling sales crew workers. In

15 establishing such standards, the Secretary shall

16 consider—

17 (A) the type of vehicle used;

18 (B) the passenger capacity of the vehicle;

19 (C) the distance which such workers will be

20 carried in the vehicle;

21 (D) the type of roads and highways on

22 which such workers will be carried in the vehi23 cle;
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1 (E) the extent to which a proposed stand2 ard would cause an undue burden on an em3 ployer of traveling sales crew workers; and

4 (F) any standard prescribed by the Sec5 retary of Transportation under part II of the

6 Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C. 301 et

7 seq.) or any successor provision of subtitle IV

8 of title 49, United States Code.

9 (e) SAFETY AND HEALTH IN HOUSING.—An em10 ployer of traveling sales crew workers shall provide hous11 ing for such workers in a manner that is consistent with

12 the following standards:

13 (1) If the employer owns or controls the facility

14 or real property which is used for housing traveling

15 sales crew workers, the employer shall be responsible

16 for ensuring that the facility or real property com17 plies with substantive Federal and State safety and

18 health standards applicable to that housing. Prior to

19 occupancy by such workers, the facility or real prop20 erty shall be certified by a State or local health au21 thority or other appropriate agency as meeting ap22 plicable safety and health standards. Written notice

23 shall be posted in the facility or real property, prior

24 to and throughout the occupancy by such workers,
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1 informing such workers that the applicable safety

2 and health standards are met.

3 (2) If the employer does not own or control the

4 facility or real property which is used for housing

5 traveling sales crew workers, the employer shall be

6 responsible for ensuring that the owner or operator

7 of such facility or real property complies with sub8 stantive Federal and State safety and health stand9 ards applicable to that housing. Such assurance by

10 the employer shall include the verification that the

11 owner or operator of such facility or real property is

12 licensed and insured in accordance with all applica13 ble State and local laws. The employer shall obtain

14 such assurance prior to housing any workers in the

15 facility or real property.

16 (f) INSURANCE OF VEHICLES; WORKERS’ COM17 PENSATION INSURANCE.—

18 (1) INSURANCE.—An employer of traveling

19 sales crew workers shall ensure that there is in ef20 fect, for each vehicle used to transport such workers,

21 an insurance policy or a liability bond which insures

22 the employer against liability for damage to persons

23 and property arising from the ownership, operation,

24 or the causing to be operated of such vehicle for

25 such purpose. The level of insurance or liability bond
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1 required shall be determined by the Secretary con2 sidering at least the factors set forth in subsection

3 (d)(2) and any relevant State law.

4 (2) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—If an employer

5 of traveling sales crew workers is the employer of

6 such workers for purposes of a State workers’ com7 pensation law and such employer provides workers’

8 compensation coverage for such workers as provided

9 for by such State law, the following modifications to

10 the requirements of paragraph (1) shall apply:

11 (A) No insurance policy or liability bond

12 shall be required of the employer if such work13 ers are transported only under circumstances

14 for which there is workers’ compensation cov15 erage under such State law.

16 (B) An insurance policy or liability bond

17 shall be required of the employer for all cir18 cumstances under which workers’ compensation

19 coverage for the transportation of such workers

20 is not provided under such State law.

21 SEC. 205. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.

22 (a) CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.—An employer who will23 fully and knowingly violates this title, or any regulation

24 promulgated under this title, shall be fined not more than

25 $10,000 or imprisoned for not to exceed 1 year, or both.
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1 Upon conviction for any subsequent violation of this title,

2 or any such regulation, an employer shall be fined not

3 more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not to exceed 3

4 years, or both.

5 (b) JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT.—

6 (1) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Secretary may

7 petition any appropriate district court of the United

8 States for temporary or permanent injunctive relief

9 if the Secretary determines that this title, or any

10 regulation promulgated under this title, has been

11 violated.

12 (2) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—Except as provided

13 in section 518(a) of title 28, United States Code, re14 lating to litigation before the Supreme Court, the

15 Solicitor of Labor may appear for and represent the

16 Secretary in any civil litigation brought under this

17 title, but all such litigation shall be subject to the di18 rection and control of the Attorney General.

19 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS; PROCEEDINGS.—

20 (1) CIVIL MONEY PENALTY.—Subject to para21 graph (2), an employer that violates this title, or any

22 regulation promulgated under this title, may be as23 sessed a civil money penalty of not more than

24 $10,000 for each such violation.
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1 (2) DETERMINATION OF PENALTY.—In deter2 mining the amount of any penalty to be assessed

3 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into

4 account—

5 (A) the previous record of the employer in

6 terms of compliance with this title and the reg7 ulations promulgated under this title; and

8 (B) the gravity of the violation.

9 (3) PROCEEDINGS.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employer that is as11 sessed a civil money penalty under this sub12 section shall be afforded an opportunity for an

13 agency hearing, upon request made within 30

14 days after the date of issuance of the notice of

15 assessment. In such hearing, all issues shall be

16 determined on the record pursuant to section

17 554 of title 5, United States Code. If no hear18 ing is requested as provided for in this para19 graph, the assessment shall constitute a final

20 and unappealable order.

21 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.—If a

22 hearing is requested under subparagraph (A),

23 the initial agency decision shall be made by an

24 administrative law judge, and such decision

25 shall become the final order unless the Sec-
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1 retary modifies or vacates this decision. Notice

2 of intent to modify or vacate the decision of the

3 administrative law judge shall be issued to the

4 parties within 90 days after the decision of the

5 administrative law judge. A final order which

6 takes effect under this paragraph shall be sub7 ject to review only as provided for under sub8 paragraph (C).

9 (C) REVIEW.—An employer against whom

10 an order imposing a civil money penalty has

11 been entered after an agency hearing under this

12 section may obtain review by the United States

13 district court for any district in which the em14 ployer is located, or the United States District

15 Court for the District of Columbia, by filing a

16 notice of appeal in such court within 30 days

17 from the date of such order and simultaneously

18 sending a copy of such notice by registered mail

19 to the Secretary. The Secretary shall promptly

20 certify and file in such court the record upon

21 which the penalty was imposed. The findings of

22 the Secretary shall be set aside only if found to

23 be unsupported by substantial evidence as pro24 vided by section 706(2)(E) of title 5, United

25 States Code. Any final decision, order, or judg-
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1 ment of such District Court concerning such re2 view shall be subject to appeal as provided in

3 chapter 83 of title 28, United States Code.

4 (D) FAILURE TO PAY.—If any person fails

5 to pay an assessment after it has become a

6 final and unappealable order under this para7 graph, or after the court has entered final judg8 ment in favor of the agency, the Secretary shall

9 refer the matter to the Attorney General, who

10 shall recover the amount assessed by action in

11 the appropriate United States district court. In

12 such action, the validity and appropriateness of

13 the final order imposing the penalty shall not be

14 subject to review.

15 (E) PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.—All pen16 alties collected under authority of this section

17 shall be paid into the Treasury of the United

18 States.

19 (d) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any traveling sales crew

21 worker aggrieved by a violation of this title, or any

22 regulation promulgated under this title, by an em23 ployer may file suit in any district court of the

24 United States having jurisdiction over the parties,

25 without respect to the amount in controversy and
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1 without regard to exhaustion of any alternative ad2 ministrative remedies provided for in this title.

3 (2) DAMAGES.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the court in an ac5 tion under paragraph (1) finds that the defend6 ant intentionally violated a provision of this

7 Act, or a regulation promulgated under this

8 Act, the court may award—

9 (i) damages up to and including an

10 amount equal to the amount of actual

11 damages;

12 (ii) statutory damages of not more

13 than $1,000 per plaintiff per violation or,

14 if such complaint is certified as a class ac15 tion, not more than $1,000,000 for all

16 plaintiffs in the class; or

17 (iii) other equitable relief.

18 (B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—In de19 termining the amount of damages to be award20 ed under subparagraph (A), the court may con21 sider whether an attempt was made to resolve

22 the issues in dispute before the resort to litiga23 tion.

24 (C) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

2 any other provision of this title, where a

3 State workers’ compensation law is appli4 cable and coverage is provided for a trav5 eling sales crew worker, the workers’ com6 pensation benefits shall be the exclusive

7 remedy for loss of such worker under this

8 title in the case of bodily injury or death

9 in accordance with such State’s workers’

10 compensation law.

11 (ii) LIMITATION.—The exclusive rem12 edy provided for under clause (i) precludes

13 the recovery under subparagraph (A) of

14 actual damages for loss from an injury or

15 death but does not preclude recovery under

16 such subparagraph for statutory damages

17 (as provided for in clause (iii)) or equitable

18 relief, except that such relief shall not in19 clude back or front pay or in any manner,

20 directly or indirectly, expand or otherwise

21 alter or affect—

22 (I) a recovery under a State

23 workers’ compensation law; or

24 (II) rights conferred under a

25 State workers’ compensation law.
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1 (iii) STATUTORY DAMAGES.—In an ac2 tion in which a claim for actual damages

3 is precluded as provided for in clause (ii),

4 the court shall award statutory damages of

5 not more than $20,000 per plaintiff per

6 violation or, in the case of a class action,

7 not more than $1,000,000 for all plaintiffs

8 in the class, if the court finds any of the

9 following:

10 (I) The defendant violated sec11 tion 204(d) by knowingly requiring or

12 permitting a driver to drive a vehicle

13 for the transportation of the plaintiff

14 or plaintiffs while under the influence

15 of alcohol or a controlled substance

16 (as defined in section 102 of the Con17 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C.

18 802)), the defendant had actual

19 knowledge of the driver’s condition,

20 such violation resulted in the injury or

21 death of the plaintiff or plaintiffs, and

22 such injury or death arose out of and

23 in the course of employment as de24 fined under the State worker’s com25 pensation law.
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1 (II) The defendant was found by

2 the court or was determined in a pre3 vious administrative or judicial pro4 ceeding to have violated a safety

5 standard prescribed by the Secretary

6 under section 204 and such violation

7 resulted in the injury or death of the

8 plaintiff or plaintiffs.

9 (III) The defendant willfully dis10 abled or removed a safety device pre11 scribed by the Secretary under section

12 204, or the defendant in conscious

13 disregard of the requirements of such

14 section failed to provide a safety de15 vice required by the Secretary, and

16 such disablement, removal, or failure

17 to provide a safety device resulted in

18 the injury or death of the plaintiff or

19 plaintiffs.

20 (IV) At the time of the violation

21 of section 204, which resulted in the

22 injury or death of the plaintiff or

23 plaintiffs, the employer or the super24 visor of the traveling sales crew did
29

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1 not have a Certificate of Registration

2 in accordance with section 203.

3 (iv) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—

4 For purposes of determining the amount of

5 statutory damages due to a plaintiff under

6 this subparagraph, multiple infractions of

7 a single provision of this title, or of regula8 tions promulgated under this title, shall

9 constitute a single violation.

10 (D) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—The court shall, in

11 addition to any judgment awarded to the plain12 tiff or plaintiffs under this paragraph, allow a

13 reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by the de14 fendant or defendants, and costs of the action.

15 (E) APPEALS.—Any civil action brought

16 under this subsection shall be subject to appeal

17 as provided for in chapter 83 of title 28, United

18 States Code.

19 (e) DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall intimidate,

21 threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in

22 any manner discriminate against any traveling sales

23 crew worker because such worker has, with just

24 cause, filed any complaint or instituted, or caused to

25 be instituted, any proceeding under or related to this
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1 title, or has testified or is about to testify in any

2 such proceedings, or because of the exercise, with

3 just cause, by such worker on behalf of the worker

4 or others of any right or protection afforded by this

5 title.

6 (2) COMPLAINT.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A traveling sales crew

8 worker who believes, with just cause, that such

9 worker has been discriminated against in viola10 tion of this subsection may, within 12 months

11 of the date of such violation, file a complaint

12 with the Secretary alleging such discrimination.

13 (B) INVESTIGATION.—Upon receipt of a

14 complaint under subparagraph (A), the Sec15 retary shall cause such investigation to be made

16 as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

17 (C) ACTIONS.—If upon an investigation

18 under subparagraph (B), the Secretary deter19 mines that the provisions of this subsection

20 have been violated, the Secretary shall bring an

21 action in any appropriate United States district

22 court against the person involved.

23 (D) RELIEF.—In any action under sub24 paragraph (C), the United States district court

25 shall have jurisdiction, for cause shown, to re-
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1 strain violations of this subsection and order all

2 appropriate relief, including rehiring or rein3 statement of the worker, with back pay, or

4 damages.

5 (f) WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—Agreements by workers

6 purporting to waive or to modify their rights under this

7 title shall be void as contrary to public policy, except that

8 a waiver or modification of rights in favor of the Secretary

9 shall be valid for purposes of enforcement of this title.

10 (g) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INFORMATION.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this title, the

12 Secretary, either pursuant to a complaint or other13 wise, shall, as may be appropriate, investigate and,

14 in connection with such investigation, enter and in15 spect such places (including housing and vehicles)

16 and such records (and make transcriptions thereof),

17 question such persons and gather such information

18 to determine compliance with this title, or regula19 tions promulgated under this title.

20 (2) PRODUCTION AND RECEIPT OF EVI21 DENCE.—The Secretary may issue subpoenas requir22 ing the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the

23 production of any evidence in connection with inves24 tigations under paragraph (1). The Secretary may

25 administer oaths, examine witnesses, and receive evi-
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1 dence. For the purpose of any hearing or investiga2 tion provided for in this title, the authority con3 tained in sections 9 and 10 of the Federal Trade

4 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 49 and 50), relating to

5 the attendance of witnesses and the production of

6 books, papers, and documents, shall be available to

7 the Secretary.

8 (3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall

9 conduct investigations under paragraph (1) in a

10 manner which protects the confidentiality of any

11 complainant or other party who provides information

12 to the Secretary in good faith.

13 (4) VIOLATION.—It shall be violation of this

14 title for any person to unlawfully resist, oppose, im15 pede, intimidate, or interfere with any official of the

16 Department of Labor assigned to perform any inves17 tigation, inspection, or law enforcement function

18 pursuant to this title during the performance of such

19 duties.

20 (h) STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS; GOVERNMENT

21 AGENCIES.—

22 (1) RELATION TO STATE LAWS.—This title is

23 intended to supplement State law, and compliance

24 with this title shall not be construed to excuse any
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1 person from compliance with appropriate State laws

2 and regulations.

3 (2) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter

4 into agreements with Federal and State agencies—

5 (A) to use their facilities and services;

6 (B) to delegate to Federal and State agen7 cies such authority, other than rulemaking, as

8 may be useful in carrying out this title; and

9 (C) to allocate or transfer funds to, or oth10 erwise pay or reimburse, such agencies for ex11 penses incurred pursuant to agreements under

12 this paragraph.

13 (i) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may

14 issue such rules and regulations as may be necessary to

15 carry out this title, consistent with the requirements of

16 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.

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