I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5159 

To permit employees to request changes to their work schedules without 

fear of retaliation, and to ensure that employers consider these requests; 

and to require employers to provide more predictable and stable schedules 

for employees in certain growing low-wage occupations, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 22, 2014 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. HONDA, Ms. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. GRAYSON, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. 

CONYERS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, 

Ms. HAHN, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HOLT, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. 

BROWN of Florida, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. CLARKE

of New York, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. ELLISON, and Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on 

House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To permit employees to request changes to their work schedules without fear of retaliation, and to ensure that employers consider these requests; and to require employers 

to provide more predictable and stable schedules for employees in certain growing low-wage occupations, and 

for other purposes. 


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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; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Schedules That Work Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The vast majority of the United States 

8 workforce today is juggling responsibilities at home 

9 and at work. Women are primary breadwinners or 

10 co-breadwinners in 63 percent of families in the 

11 United States and 26 percent of families with chil12 dren are headed by single mothers. 

13 (2) Despite the dual responsibilities of today’s 

14 workforce, workers across the income spectrum have 

15 very little ability to make changes to their work 

16 schedules when those changes are needed to accom17 modate family responsibilities. Only 27 percent of 

18 employers allow all or most of their employees to pe19 riodically change their starting and quitting times. 

20 (3) Although low-wage workers are most likely 

21 to be raising children on their own, as more than 

22 half of mothers of young children in low-wage jobs 

23 are doing, low-wage workers have the least control 

24 over their work schedules and the most unpredict25 able schedules. For example— 


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1 (A) roughly half of low-wage workers re2 ported very little or no control over the timing 

3 of the hours they were scheduled to work; 

4 (B) many workers in low-wage jobs receive 

5 their schedules with very little advance notice 

6 and have work hours that vary significantly 

7 from week to week or month to month; 

8 (C) some workers in low-wage jobs are sent 

9 home from work when work is slow without 

10 being paid for their scheduled shift; 

11 (D) in some industries, the use of ‘‘call-in 

12 shift’’ requirements—requirements that workers 

13 call in to work to find out whether they will be 

14 scheduled to work later that day—has become 

15 common practice; and 

16 (E) at the same time, 20 to 30 percent of 

17 workers in low-wage jobs struggle with being re18 quired to work extra hours with little or no no19 tice. 

20 (4) Unfair work scheduling practices make it 

21 difficult for low-wage workers to— 

22 (A) provide necessary care for children and 

23 other family members, including arranging child 

24 care; 


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1 (B) qualify for and maintain eligibility for 

2 child care subsidies, due to fluctuations in in3 come and work hours, or keep an appointment 

4 with a child care provider, due to not knowing 

5 how many hours or when the workers will be 

6 scheduled to work; 

7 (C) pursue workforce training; 

8 (D) get or keep a second job that some 

9 part-time workers need to make ends meet; and 

10 (E) arrange transportation to and from 

11 work. 

12 (5) Unpredictable and unstable schedules are 

13 prevalent in retail sales, food preparation and serv14 ice, and building cleaning occupations, which are 

15 among the lowest-paid and fastest-growing occupa16 tions in the workforce today. For workers in those 

17 occupations, often difficult and sometimes abusive 

18 work scheduling practices combine with very low 

19 wages to make it extremely challenging to make 

20 ends meet. 

21 (6) Retail sales, food preparation and service, 

22 and building cleaning occupations are among those 

23 most likely to have unpredictable and unstable 

24 schedules. According to data from the Bureau of 

25 Labor Statistics, 66 percent of food service workers, 


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1 52 percent of retail workers, and 40 percent of jani2 tors and housekeepers know their schedules only a 

3 week or less in advance. The average variation in 

4 work hours in a single month is 70 percent for food 

5 service workers, 50 percent for retail workers, and 

6 40 percent for janitors and housekeepers. 

7 (7) Those are among the lowest-paid and fast8 est-growing occupations, accounting for 18 percent 

9 of workers in the economy, some 23,500,000 work10 ers. The median pay for workers in those 3 occupa11 tions is between $9.15 and $10.44 per hour, and 

12 women make up more than half of the workers in 

13 those occupations. 

14 (8) Employers that have implemented fair work 

15 scheduling policies that allow workers to have more 

16 control over their work schedules, and provide more 

17 predictable and stable schedules, have experienced 

18 significant benefits, including reductions in absentee19 ism and workforce turnover, and increased employee 

20 morale and engagement. 

21 (9) This Act is a first step in responding to the 

22 needs of workers for a voice in the timing of their 

23 work hours and for more predictable schedules. 

24 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

25 As used in this Act, the following definitions apply: 


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1 (1) BONA FIDE BUSINESS REASON.—The term 

2 ‘‘bona fide business reason’’ means— 

3 (A) the identifiable burden of additional 

4 costs to an employer, including the cost of pro5 ductivity loss, retraining or hiring employees, or 

6 transferring employees from one facility to an7 other facility; 

8 (B) a significant detrimental effect on the 

9 employer’s ability to meet organizational needs 

10 or customer demand; 

11 (C) a significant inability of the employer, 

12 despite best efforts, to reorganize work among 

13 existing (as of the date of the reorganization) 

14 staff; 

15 (D) a significant detrimental effect on 

16 business performance; 

17 (E) insufficiency of work during the peri18 ods an employee proposes to work; 

19 (F) the need to balance competing sched20 uling requests when it is not possible to grant 

21 all such requests without a significant detri22 mental effect on the employer’s ability to meet 

23 organizational needs; or 


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1 (G) such other reason as may be specified 

2 by the Secretary of Labor (or the corresponding 

3 administrative officer specified in section 8). 

4 (2) CAREER-RELATED EDUCATIONAL OR TRAIN5 ING PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘career-related edu6 cational or training program’’ means an educational 

7 or training program or program of study offered by 

8 a public, private, or nonprofit career and technical 

9 education school, institution of higher education, or 

10 other entity that provides academic education, career 

11 and technical education, or training (including reme12 dial education or English as a second language, as 

13 appropriate), that is a program that leads to a rec14 ognized postsecondary credential (as identified under 

15 section 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Op16 portunity Act), and provides career awareness infor17 mation. The term includes a program allowable 

18 under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 

19 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.), the Workforce Innovation and 

20 Opportunity Act, the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

21 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 

22 et seq.), or the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), without regard to whether or 

24 not the program is funded under the corresponding 

25 Act. 


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1 (3) CAREGIVER.—The term ‘‘caregiver’’ means 

2 an individual with the status of being a significant 

3 provider of— 

4 (A) ongoing care or education, including 

5 responsibility for securing the ongoing care or 

6 education, of a child; or 

7 (B) ongoing care, including responsibility 

8 for securing the ongoing care, of— 

9 (i) a person with a serious health con10 dition who is in a family relationship with 

11 the individual; or 

12 (ii) a parent of the individual, who is 

13 age 65 or older. 

14 (4) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means a biologi15 cal, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal 

16 ward, or a child of a person standing in loco 

17 parentis to that child, who is— 

18 (A) under age 18; or 

19 (B) age 18 or older and incapable of self20 care because of a mental or physical disability. 

21 (5) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered em23 ployer’’— 

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1 ing commerce who employs 15 or more em2 ployees (described in paragraph (7)(A)); 

3 (ii) includes any person who acts, di4 rectly or indirectly, in the interest of such 

5 an employer to any of the employees (de6 scribed in paragraph (7)(A)) of such em7 ployer; 

8 (iii) includes any successor in interest 

9 of such an employer; and 

10 (iv) includes an agency described in 

11 clause (iii) or (iv) of subparagraph (A) of 

12 section 101(4) of the Family and Medical 

13 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(4)), to 

14 which subparagraph (B) of such section 

15 shall apply. 

16 (B) RULE.—For purposes of determining 

17 the number of employees who work for a person 

18 described in subparagraph (A)(i), all employees 

19 (described in paragraph (7)(A)) performing 

20 work for compensation on a full-time, part-time, 

21 or temporary basis shall be counted, except that 

22 if the number of such employees who perform 

23 work for such a person for compensation fluc24 tuates, the number may be determined for a 

25 calendar year based upon the average number 


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1 of such employees who performed work for the 

2 person for compensation during the preceding 

3 calendar year. 

4 (C) PERSON.—In this paragraph, and 

5 paragraph (7), the term ‘‘person’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Fair 

7 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

8 (6) DOMESTIC PARTNER.—The term ‘‘domestic 

9 partner’’ means the person recognized as being in a 

10 relationship with an employee under any domestic 

11 partnership, civil union, or similar law of the State 

12 or political subdivision of a State in which the em13 ployee resides. 

14 (7) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

15 an individual who is— 

16 (A) an employee, as defined in section 3(e) 

17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

18 U.S.C. 203(e)), who is not described in any of 

19 subparagraphs (B) through (G); 

20 (B) a State employee described in section 

21 304(a) of the Government Employee Rights Act 

22 of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); 

23 (C) a covered employee, as defined in sec24 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability 


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1 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301), other than an ap2 plicant for employment; 

3 (D) a covered employee, as defined in sec4 tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; 

5 (E) a Federal officer or employee covered 

6 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, 

7 United States Code; 

8 (F) an employee of the Library of Con9 gress; or 

10 (G) an employee of the Government Ac11 countability Office. 

12 (8) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means 

13 a person— 

14 (A) who is— 

15 (i) a covered employer, as defined in 

16 paragraph (4), who is not described in any 

17 of clauses (ii) through (vii); 

18 (ii) an entity employing a State em19 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 

20 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; 

21 (iii) an employing office, as defined in 

22 section 101 of the Congressional Account23 ability Act of 1995; 


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1 (iv) an employing office, as defined in 

2 section 411(c) of title 3, United States 

3 Code; 

4 (v) an employing agency covered 

5 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 

6 5, United States Code; 

7 (vi) the Librarian of Congress; or 

8 (vii) the Comptroller General of the 

9 United States; and 

10 (B) who is engaged in commerce (including 

11 government), in the production of goods for 

12 commerce, or in an enterprise engaged in com13 merce (including government) or in the produc14 tion of goods for commerce. 

15 (9) FAMILY RELATIONSHIP.—The term ‘‘family 

16 relationship’’ means a relationship with a child, 

17 spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandchild, grand18 parent, sibling, or parent of a spouse or domestic 

19 partner. 

20 (10) GRANDCHILD.—The term ‘‘grandchild’’ 

21 means the child of a child. 

22 (11) GRANDPARENT.—The term ‘‘grandparent’’ 

23 means the parent of a parent. 

24 (12) MINIMUM NUMBER OF EXPECTED WORK

25 HOURS.—The term ‘‘minimum number of expected 


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1 work hours’’ means the minimum number of hours 

2 an employee will be assigned to work on a weekly or 

3 monthly basis. 

4 (13) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a bi5 ological or adoptive parent, a stepparent, or a person 

6 who stood in a parental relationship to an employee 

7 when the employee was a child. 

8 (14) PARENTAL RELATIONSHIP.—The term 

9 ‘‘parental relationship’’ means a relationship in 

10 which a person assumed the obligations incident to 

11 parenthood for a child and discharged those obliga12 tions before the child reached adulthood. 

13 (15) PART-TIME EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘part14 time employee’’ means an individual who works 

15 fewer than 30 hours per week on average during any 

16 1-month period. 

17 (16) RETAIL, FOOD SERVICE, OR CLEANING EM18 PLOYEE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘retail, food 

20 service, or cleaning employee’’ means an indi21 vidual employee who is employed in any of the 

22 following occupations, as described by the Bu23 reau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational 

24 Classification System (as in effect on the day 

25 before the date of enactment of this Act): 


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1 (i) Retail sales occupations consisting 

2 of occupations described in 41–1010 and 

3 41–2000, and all subdivisions thereof, of 

4 such System, which includes first-line su5 pervisors of sales workers, cashiers, gam6 ing change persons and booth cashiers, 

7 counter and rental clerks, parts sales8 persons, and retail salespersons. 

9 (ii) Food preparation and serving re10 lated occupations as described in 35–0000, 

11 and all subdivisions thereof, of such Sys12 tem, which includes supervisors of food 

13 preparation and serving workers, cooks 

14 and food preparation workers, food and 

15 beverage serving workers, and other food 

16 preparation and serving related workers. 

17 (iii) Building cleaning occupations as 

18 described in 37–2011, 37–2012 and 37– 

19 2019 of such System, which includes jani20 tors and cleaners, maids and housekeeping 

21 cleaners, and building cleaning workers. 

22 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—Notwithstanding sub23 paragraph (A), the term ‘‘retail, food service, or 

24 cleaning employee’’ does not include any person 

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1 tive, or professional capacity, as defined for 

2 purposes of section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor 

3 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)). 

4 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

5 means the Secretary of Labor. 

6 (18) SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION.—The term 

7 ‘‘serious health condition’’ has the meaning given 

8 the term in section 101 of the Family and Medical 

9 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611). 

10 (19) SIBLING.—The term ‘‘sibling’’ means a 

11 brother or sister, whether related by half blood, 

12 whole blood, or adoption, or as a stepsibling. 

13 (20) SPLIT SHIFT.—The term ‘‘split shift’’ 

14 means a schedule of daily hours in which the hours 

15 worked are not consecutive, except that a schedule 

16 in which the total time out for meals does not exceed 

17 1 hour shall not be treated as a split shift. 

18 (21) SPOUSE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘spouse’’ 

20 means a person with whom an individual en21 tered into— 

22 (i) a marriage as defined or recog23 nized under State law in the State in 

24 which the marriage was entered into; or 


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1 (ii) in the case of a marriage entered 

2 into outside of any State, a marriage that 

3 is in the place where entered into and 

4 could have been entered into in at least 1 

5 State. 

6 (B) SAME-SEX OR COMMON LAW MAR7 RIAGE.—Such term includes an individual in a 

8 same-sex or common law marriage that meets 

9 the requirements of subparagraph (A). 

10 (22) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean11 ing given the term in section 3 of the Fair Labor 

12 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

13 (23) WORK SCHEDULE.—The term ‘‘work 

14 schedule’’ means those days and times within a work 

15 period when an employee is required by an employer 

16 to perform the duties of the employee’s employment 

17 for which the employee will receive compensation. 

18 (24) WORK SCHEDULE CHANGE.—The term 

19 ‘‘work schedule change’’ means any modification to 

20 an employee’s work schedule, such as an addition or 

21 reduction of hours, cancellation of a shift, or a 

22 change in the date or time of a work shift, by an 

23 employer. 


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1 (25) WORK SHIFT.—The term ‘‘work shift’’ 

2 means the specific hours of the workday during 

3 which an employee works. 

4 (26) VARIOUS ADDITIONAL TERMS.— 

5 (A) COMMERCE TERMS.—The terms ‘‘com6 merce’’ and ‘‘industry or activity affecting com7 merce’’ have the meanings given the terms in 

8 section 101 of the Family and Medical Leave 

9 Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611). 

10 (B) EMPLOY.—The term ‘‘employ’’ has the 

11 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Fair 

12 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

13 SEC. 3. RIGHT TO REQUEST AND RECEIVE A FLEXIBLE, 

14 PREDICTABLE OR STABLE WORK SCHEDULE. 

15 (a) RIGHT TO REQUEST.—An employee may apply 

16 to the employee’s employer to request a change in the 

17 terms and conditions of employment as they relate to— 

18 (1) the number of hours the employee is re19 quired to work or be on call for work; 

20 (2) the times when the employee is required to 

21 work or be on call for work; 

22 (3) the location where the employee is required 

23 to work; 

24 (4) the amount of notification the employee re25 ceives of work schedule assignments; and 


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1 (5) minimizing fluctuations in the number of 

2 hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, 

3 weekly, or monthly basis. 

4 (b) EMPLOYER OBLIGATION TO ENGAGE IN AN

5 INTERACTIVE PROCESS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an employee applies to the 

7 employee’s employer to request a change in the 

8 terms and conditions of employment as set forth in 

9 subsection (a), the employer shall engage in a time10 ly, good faith interactive process with the employee 

11 that includes a discussion of potential schedule 

12 changes that would meet the employee’s needs. 

13 (2) RESULT.—Such process shall result in— 

14 (A) either granting or denying the request; 

15 (B) in the event of a denial, considering al16 ternatives to the proposed change that might 

17 meet the employee’s needs and granting or de18 nying a request for an alternative change in the 

19 terms and conditions of employment as set 

20 forth in subsection (a); and 

21 (C) in the event of a denial, stating the 

22 reason for denial. 

23 (3) INFORMATION.—If information provided by 

24 the employee making a request for a change requires 

25 clarification, the employer shall explain what further 


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1 information is needed and give the employee reason2 able time to produce the information. 

3 (c) REQUESTS RELATED TO CAREGIVING, ENROLL4 MENT IN EDUCATION OR TRAINING, OR A SECOND JOB.— 

5 If an employee makes a request for a change in the terms 

6 and conditions of employment as set forth in subsection 

7 (a) because of a serious health condition of the employee, 

8 due to the employee’s responsibilities as a caregiver, or 

9 due to the employee’s enrollment in a career-related edu10 cational or training program, or if a part-time employee 

11 makes a request for such a change for a reason related 

12 to a second job, the employer shall grant the request, un13 less the employer has a bona fide business reason for deny14 ing the request. 

15 (d) OTHER REQUESTS.—If an employee makes a re16 quest for a change in the terms and conditions of employ17 ment as set forth in subsection (a), for a reason other than 

18 those reasons set forth in subsection (c), the employer may 

19 deny the request for any reason that is not unlawful. If 

20 the employer denies such a request, the employer shall 

21 provide the employee with the reason for the denial, in22 cluding whether any such reason was a bona fide business 

23 reason. 


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1 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORTING TIME PAY, SPLIT 

2 SHIFT PAY, AND ADVANCE NOTICE OF WORK 

3 SCHEDULES. 

4 (a) REPORTING TIME PAY REQUIREMENT.—An em5 ployer shall pay a retail, food service, or cleaning em6 ployee— 

7 (1) for at least 4 hours at the employee’s reg8 ular rate of pay for each day on which the retail, 

9 food service, or cleaning employee reports for work 

10 under specific instructions but is given less than 

11 four hours of work, except that if the retail, food 

12 service, or cleaning employee’s scheduled hours are 

13 less than 4 hours, such retail, food service, or clean14 ing employee shall be paid for the employee’s sched15 uled hours for that day if given less than the sched16 uled hours of work; and 

17 (2) for at least 1 hour at the employee’s regular 

18 rate of pay for each day the retail, food service, or 

19 cleaning employee is given specific instructions to 

20 contact the employee’s employer, or wait to be con21 tacted by the employer, less than 24 hours in ad22 vance of the start of a potential work shift to deter23 mine whether the employee must report to work for 

24 such shift. 

25 (b) SPLIT SHIFT PAY REQUIREMENT.—An employer 

26 shall pay a retail, food service, or cleaning employee for 


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1 one additional hour at the retail, food service, or cleaning 

2 employee’s regular rate of pay for each day during which 

3 the retail, food service, or cleaning employee works a split 

4 shift. 

5 (c) ADVANCE NOTICE REQUIREMENT.— 

6 (1) INITIAL SCHEDULE.—On or before a new 

7 retail, food service, or cleaning employee’s first day 

8 of work, the employer shall inform the retail, food 

9 service, or cleaning employee in writing of the em10 ployee’s work schedule and the minimum number of 

11 expected work hours the retail, food service, or 

12 cleaning employee will be assigned to work per 

13 month. 

14 (2) CHANGE TO SCHEDULE.—Except as pro15 vided in paragraph (3), if the retail, food service, or 

16 cleaning employee’s work schedule changes from the 

17 work schedule of which the retail, food service, or 

18 cleaning employee was informed pursuant to para19 graph (1), the employer shall provide each retail, 

20 food service, or cleaning employee with the employ21 ee’s new work schedule not less than 14 days before 

22 the first day of the new work schedule. If the ex23 pected minimum number of work hours a retail, food 

24 service, or cleaning employee will be assigned 

25 changes, the employer shall also provide notification 


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1 of that change, not less than 14 days in advance of 

2 the first day this change will go into effect. Nothing 

3 in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit an 

4 employer from providing greater advance notice of a 

5 retail, food service, or cleaning employee’s work 

6 schedule than is required under this section. 

7 (3) WORK SCHEDULE CHANGES MADE WITH

8 LESS THAN 24 HOURS’ NOTICE.—An employer may 

9 make work schedule changes as needed, including by 

10 offering additional hours of work to retail, food serv11 ice, or cleaning employees beyond those previously 

12 scheduled, but an employer shall be required to pro13 vide one extra hour of pay at the retail, food service, 

14 or cleaning employee’s regular rate for each shift 

15 that is changed with less than 24 hours’ notice, ex16 cept in the case of the need to schedule the retail, 

17 food service, or cleaning employee due to the unfore18 seen unavailability of a retail, food service, or clean19 ing employee previously scheduled to work that shift. 

20 (4) NOTIFICATIONS IN WRITING.—The notifica21 tions required under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be 

22 made to the employee in writing. Nothing in this 

23 subsection shall be construed as prohibiting an em24 ployer from using any additional means of notifying 


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1 a retail, food service, or cleaning employee of the 

2 employee’s work schedule. 

3 (5) SCHEDULE POSTING REQUIREMENT.—Every 

4 employer employing any retail, food service, or clean5 ing employee subject to this Act shall post the 

6 schedule and keep it posted in a conspicuous place 

7 in every establishment where such retail, food serv8 ice, or cleaning employee is employed so as to permit 

9 them to observe readily a copy. Availability of that 

10 schedule by electronic means accessible by all em11 ployees of that employer shall be considered compli12 ance with this subsection. 

13 (6) EMPLOYEE SHIFT TRADING.—Nothing in 

14 this subsection shall be construed to prevent an em15 ployer from allowing a retail, food service, or clean16 ing employee to work in place of another employee 

17 who has been scheduled to work a particular shift as 

18 long as the change in schedule is mutually agreed 

19 upon by the employees. An employer shall not be 

20 subject to the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) 

21 for such voluntary shift trades. 

22 (d) EXCEPTION.—The requirements in subsections 

23 (a), (b), and (c) shall not apply during periods when reg24 ular operations of the employer are suspended due to 

25 events beyond the employer’s control. 


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1 SEC. 5. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

2 (a) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.—It shall be un3 lawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny 

4 the exercise or the attempt to exercise, any right of an 

5 employee as set forth in section 3 or of a retail, food serv6 ice, or cleaning employee as set forth in section 4. 

7 (b) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—It shall be unlawful 

8 for any employer to discharge, threaten to discharge, de9 mote, suspend, reduce work hours of, or take any other 

10 adverse employment action against any employee in retal11 iation for exercising the rights of an employee under this 

12 Act or opposing any practice made unlawful by this Act. 

13 For purposes of section 3, such retaliation shall include 

14 taking an adverse employment action against any em15 ployee on the basis of that employee’s eligibility or per16 ceived eligibility to request or receive a change in the 

17 terms and conditions of employment, as described in such 

18 section, on the basis of a reason set forth in section 3(c). 

19 (c) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR INQUIR20 IES.—It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or 

21 in any other manner discriminate against any individual 

22 because such individual— 

23 (1) has filed any charge, or has instituted or 

24 caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or re25 lated to this Act; 


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1 (2) has given or is about to give, any informa2 tion in connection with any inquiry or proceeding re3 lating to any right provided under this Act; or 

4 (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any 

5 inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided 

6 under this Act. 

7 SEC. 6. REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT. 

8 (a) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance with 

10 this Act, or any regulation or order issued under 

11 this Act, the Secretary shall have, subject to para12 graph (3), the investigative authority provided under 

13 section 11(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

14 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)). 

15 (2) OBLIGATION TO KEEP AND PRESERVE

16 RECORDS.—Each employer shall make, keep, and 

17 preserve records pertaining to compliance with this 

18 Act in accordance with regulations issued by the 

19 Secretary under section 8. 

20 (3) REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS GENERALLY LIM21 ITED TO AN ANNUAL BASIS.—The Secretary shall 

22 not under the authority of this subsection require 

23 any employer to submit to the Secretary any books 

24 or records more than once during any 12-month pe25 riod, unless the Secretary has reasonable cause to 


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1 believe there may exist a violation of this Act or any 

2 regulation or order issued pursuant to this Act, or 

3 is investigating a charge pursuant to subsection (c). 

4 (4) SUBPOENA POWERS.—For the purposes of 

5 any investigation provided for in this section, the 

6 Secretary shall have the subpoena authority provided 

7 for under section 9 of the Fair Labor Standards Act 

8 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 209). 

9 (b) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEES.— 

10 (1) LIABILITY.—Any employer who violates sec11 tion 5(a) (with respect to a right set forth in section 

12 4) or subsection (b) or (c) of section 5 (referred to 

13 in this section as a ‘‘covered provision’’) shall be lia14 ble to any employee affected for— 

15 (A) damages equal to the amount of— 

16 (i) any wages, salary, employment 

17 benefits (as defined in section 101 of the 

18 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 

19 U.S.C. 2611)), or other compensation de20 nied, lost, or owed to such employee by 

21 reason of the violation; or 

22 (ii) in a case in which wages, salary, 

23 employment benefits (as so defined), or 

24 other compensation have not been denied, 

25 lost, or owed to the employee, any actual 


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1 monetary losses sustained by the employee 

2 as a direct result of the violation; 

3 (B) interest on the amount described in 

4 subparagraph (A) calculated at the prevailing 

5 rate; 

6 (C) an additional amount as liquidated 

7 damages equal to the sum of the amount de8 scribed in subparagraph (A) and the interest 

9 described in subparagraph (B), except that if 

10 an employer who has violated a covered provi11 sion proves to the satisfaction of the court that 

12 the act or omission which violated the covered 

13 provision was in good faith and that the em14 ployer had reasonable grounds for believing that 

15 the act or omission was not a violation of a cov16 ered provision, such court may, in the discretion 

17 of the court, reduce the amount of liability to 

18 the amount and interest determined under sub19 paragraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and 

20 (D) such equitable relief as may be appro21 priate, including employment, reinstatement, 

22 and promotion. 

23 (2) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to recover 

24 the damages or equitable relief set forth in para25 graph (1) may be maintained against any employer 


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1 (including a public agency) in any Federal or State 

2 court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more 

3 employees for and on behalf of— 

4 (A) the employees; or 

5 (B) the employees and other employees 

6 similarly situated. 

7 (3) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in such an 

8 action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to 

9 the plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, rea10 sonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the 

11 action to be paid by the defendant. 

12 (4) LIMITATIONS.—The right provided by para13 graph (2) to bring an action by or on behalf of any 

14 employee shall terminate on the filing of a complaint 

15 by the Secretary in an action under subsection (c)(3) 

16 in which a recovery is sought of the damages de17 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) owing to an employee by 

18 an employer liable under paragraph (1) unless the 

19 action described is dismissed without prejudice on 

20 motion of the Secretary. 

21 (c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.— 

22 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Secretary 

23 shall receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve 

24 complaints of violations of this Act in the same man25 ner that the Secretary receives, investigates, and atVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:23 Jul 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5159.IH H5159

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1 tempts to resolve complaints of violations of sections 

2 6 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

3 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 207), and may issue an order 

4 making determinations, and assessing a civil penalty 

5 described in paragraph (4) (in accordance with para6 graph (4)), with respect to such an alleged violation. 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—An affected 

8 person who takes exception to an order issued under 

9 paragraph (1) may request review of and a decision 

10 regarding such an order by an administrative law 

11 judge. In reviewing the order, the administrative law 

12 judge may hold an administrative hearing con13 cerning the order, in accordance with the require14 ments of sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5, 

15 United States Code. Such hearing shall be conducted 

16 expeditiously. If no affected person requests such re17 view within 60 days after the order is issued under 

18 paragraph (1), the order shall be considered to be a 

19 final order that is not subject to judicial review. 

20 (3) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may bring 

21 an action in any court of competent jurisdiction on 

22 behalf of aggrieved employees to— 

23 (A) restrain violations of this Act; 


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1 (B) award such equitable relief as may be 

2 appropriate, including employment, reinstate3 ment, and promotion; and 

4 (C) in the case of a violation of a covered 

5 provision, recover the damages and interest de6 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of 

7 subsection (b)(1). 

8 (4) CIVIL PENALTY.—An employer who willfully 

9 and repeatedly violates— 

10 (A) paragraph (1), (4), or (5) of section 

11 4(c) shall be subject to a civil penalty in an 

12 amount to be determined by the Secretary, but 

13 not to exceed $100 per violation; and 

14 (B) subsection (b) or (c) of section 5 shall 

15 be subject to a civil penalty in an amount to be 

16 determined by the Secretary, but not to exceed 

17 $1,100 per violation. 

18 (d) LIMITATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graph (2), an action may be brought under this sec21 tion not later than 2 years after the date of the last 

22 event constituting the alleged violation for which the 

23 action is brought. 

24 (2) WILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the case of such 

25 action brought for a willful violation of section 5, 


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1 such action may be brought within 3 years of the 

2 date of the last event constituting the alleged viola3 tion for which such action is brought. 

4 (3) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining when an 

5 action is commenced by the Secretary under this 

6 section for the purposes of this subsection, it shall 

7 be considered to be commenced on the date when the 

8 complaint is filed. 

9 SEC. 7. NOTICE AND POSTING. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each employer shall post and 

11 keep posted, in conspicuous places on the premises of the 

12 employer where notices to employees and applicants for 

13 employment are customarily posted, a notice, to be pre14 pared or approved by the Secretary (or the corresponding 

15 administrative officer specified in section 8) setting forth 

16 excerpts from, or summaries of, the pertinent provisions 

17 of this Act and information pertaining to the filing of a 

18 complaint under this Act. 

19 (b) PENALTY.—Any employer that willfully violates 

20 this section may be assessed a civil money penalty not to 

21 exceed $100 for each separate offense. 

22 SEC. 8. REGULATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 

24 (b) through (f), not later than 180 days after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe 


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1 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 

2 Act. 

3 (b) BOARD.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Board of Directors of the 

5 Office of Compliance shall prescribe such regulations as 

6 may be necessary to carry out this Act with respect to 

7 employees described in section 4(7)(C). 

8 (c) PRESIDENT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the President shall prescribe 

10 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 

11 Act with respect to employees described in section 

12 4(7)(D). 

13 (d) OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.—Not 

14 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act, the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe 

16 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 

17 Act with respect to employees described in section 4(7)(E). 

18 (e) LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 

19 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Librarian 

20 of Congress shall prescribe such regulations as may be 

21 necessary to carry out this Act with respect to employees 

22 of the Library of Congress. 

23 (f) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

24 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp25 troller General of the United States shall prescribe such 


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1 regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act with 

2 respect to employees of the Government Accountability Of3 fice. 

4 SEC. 9. RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND TECHNICAL ASSIST5 ANCE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide infor7 mation and technical assistance to employers, labor orga8 nizations, and the general public concerning compliance 

9 with this Act. 

10 (b) PROGRAM.—In order to achieve the objectives of 

11 this Act— 

12 (1) the Secretary, acting through the Adminis13 trator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Depart14 ment of Labor, shall issue guidance on compliance 

15 with this Act regarding providing a flexible, predict16 able, or stable work environment through changes in 

17 the terms and conditions of employment as provided 

18 in section 3(a); and 

19 (2) the Secretary shall carry on a continuing 

20 program of research, education, and technical assist21 ance, including— 

22 (A)(i) conducting pilot programs that im23 plement fairer work schedules, including by pro24 moting cross training, providing three weeks or 

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1 ployees with a minimum number of hours of 

2 work, and using computerized scheduling soft3 ware to provide more flexible, predictable, and 

4 stable schedules for employees; and 

5 (ii) evaluating the results of such pilot pro6 grams for employees, employee’s families, and 

7 employers; 

8 (B) publishing and otherwise making avail9 able to employers, labor organizations, profes10 sional associations, educational institutions, the 

11 various communication media, and the general 

12 public the findings of studies regarding fair 

13 work scheduling policies and other materials for 

14 promoting compliance with this Act; 

15 (C) sponsoring and assisting State and 

16 community informational and educational pro17 grams; and 

18 (D) providing technical assistance to em19 ployers, labor organizations, professional asso20 ciations, and other interested persons on means 

21 of achieving and maintaining compliance with 

22 the provisions of this Act. 

23 (c) GAO STUDY.— 

24 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

25 United States shall conduct a study on— 


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1 (A) the impact of difficult scheduling prac2 tices on employees and employers, including un3 predictable and unstable schedules and sched4 ules over which employees have little control, 

5 and particularly how these scheduling practices 

6 impact absenteeism, workforce turnover, and 

7 employees’ ability to meet their caregiving re8 sponsibilities; 

9 (B) the prevalence in occupations not de10 scribed in section 2(16)(A) of employees rou11 tinely receiving inadequate advance notice of 

12 the shifts or hours of the employees, being as13 signed split shifts, being sent home from work 

14 prior to the completion of their scheduled shift 

15 without being paid for the hours in their sched16 uled shift, being assigned call-in shifts (where 

17 the employee is required to contact the em18 ployer, or wait to be contacted by the employer, 

19 less than 24 hours in advance of the potential 

20 work shift to determine whether the employee 

21 must report to work), or being called into work 

22 outside of scheduled hours; 

23 (C) the effects on employees in occupations 

24 not described in section 2(16)(A) of providing 

25 advance notice of work schedules, reporting 


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1 time pay when employees are sent home without 

2 working their full scheduled shift or are as3 signed to call-in shifts but given no work for 

4 those shifts, and split shift pay when employees 

5 are assigned split shifts; and 

6 (D) the effects on employers in occupations 

7 not described in section 2(16)(A) of providing 

8 advance notice of work schedules, reporting 

9 time pay when employees are sent home without 

10 working their full scheduled shift or assigned to 

11 call-in shifts but given no work for those shifts, 

12 and split shift pay when employees are assigned 

13 split shifts. 

14 (2) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

16 General of the United States shall prepare and sub17 mit a report to the appropriate committees of Con18 gress concerning the initial results of the study con19 ducted pursuant to paragraph (1). Not later than 5 

20 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

21 Comptroller General shall prepare and submit a fol22 low-up report to such committees concerning the re23 sults of such study. 


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1 SEC. 10. RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEES. 

2 This Act provides minimum requirements and shall 

3 not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the 

4 applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, 

5 policy, or standard that provides for greater rights for em6 ployees than are required in this Act. 

7 SEC. 11. EXEMPTION. 

8 This Act shall not apply to any employee covered by 

9 a bona fide collective bargaining agreement if the terms 

10 of the collective bargaining agreement include terms that 

11 govern work scheduling practices. 

12 SEC. 12. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW. 

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as creating or 

14 imposing any requirement in conflict with any Federal or 

15 State law or regulation (including the Americans with Dis16 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Fam17 ily and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et 

18 seq.), the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 

19 et seq.), and title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

20 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.)), nor shall anything in this Act be 

21 construed to diminish or impair the rights of an employee 

22 under any valid collective bargaining agreement. 

Æ 


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