I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4238

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to enhance tax incentives

for charitable contributions, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 27, 1996

Mr. BOEHNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Economic and Educational Opportunities, Transportation and Infrastructure,

Commerce, 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 amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to enhance

tax incentives for charitable contributions, and for other

purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Compassionate Community Act of 1996’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
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TITLE I—TAX INCENTIVES FOR CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS

Sec. 101. Charitable credit and enhancement of charitable deduction.

Sec. 102. Credit for payment of wages while employee volunteers.

TITLE II—VOLUNTEER ENHANCEMENT

Sec. 201. Compensatory time.

TITLE III—COMMON SENSE LEGAL AND REGULATORY REFORMS

FOR CHARITIES.

Subtitle A—Liability of Certain Tax Exempt Organizations Under CERCLA

Sec. 301. Limitation for certain tax exempt organizations.

Subtitle B—Liability of Certain Tax Exempt Organizations Under OSHA

Sec. 311. Notice of violation.

Sec. 312. Employer defenses.

Subtitle C—Fair Labor Standards Act Obligations of Certain Tax Exempt

Organizations

Sec. 321. Flexible and compressed schedules.

Subtitle D—Limited Damages in Negligence Claims

Sec. 331. Suits against charitable organizations.

Subtitle E—Volunteer Protection

Sec. 332. Findings and purpose.

Sec. 333. No preemption of State tort law.

Sec. 334. Limitation on liability for volunteers.

Sec. 335. Certification requirement and adjustment of social services block

grant allotments.

Sec. 336. Definitions.

Subtitle F—Charitable Medical Care

Sec. 341. Exemption of health care professionals from negligence liability in the

provision of certain health care services without charge.

Subtitle G—Property Access

Sec. 351. Property access.

Subtitle H—Volunteer Firefighter and Rescue Squad Worker Protection

Sec. 361. Firefighter and rescue squad services.

Sec. 362. Waiver of overtime compensation.

Sec. 363. Coercion.
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1 TITLE I—TAX INCENTIVES FOR

2 CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS

3 SEC. 101. CHARITABLE CREDIT AND ENHANCEMENT OF

4 CHARITABLE DEDUCTION.

5 (a) CREDIT FOR CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code

8 of 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits)

9 is amended by inserting after section 22 the follow10 ing new section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 23. CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual,

13 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed

14 by this subtitle for the taxable year an amount equal to

15 the charitable contributions payment of which is made

16 within the taxable year.

17 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The credit allowed under sub18 section (a) for the taxable year shall not exceed $100

19 ($200 in the case of a joint return).

20 ‘‘(c) CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION.—For purposes of

21 this section, the term ‘charitable contribution’ has the

22 meaning given such term in section 170.

23 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this section,

24 rules similar to the rules of the last sentence of section

25 170(a)(1) shall apply.
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1 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH DEDUCTION FOR CHARI2 TABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—

3 ‘‘(1) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction

4 shall be allowed under section 170 with respect to

5 any charitable contribution for which a credit is al6 lowed under this section.

7 ‘‘(2) ELECTION TO HAVE SECTION NOT

8 APPLY.—A taxpayer may elect, for any taxable year,

9 to have this section not apply.’’

10 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of

12 chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting

13 after the item relating to section 22 the following

14 new item:

‘‘Sec. 23. Charitable Contributions.

15 (b) CERTAIN LIMITATIONS INAPPLICABLE TO CON16 TRIBUTIONS BY INDIVIDUALS TO 501(c)(3) ORGANIZA17 TIONS.—Paragraph (1) of section 170(b) of the Internal

18 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to percentage limitations)

19 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub20 paragraph:

21 ‘‘(G) EXCEPTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO

22 501(c)(3) ORGANIZATIONS.—The limitations of

23 subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) shall not

24 apply to charitable contributions to an organi25 zation described in section 501(c)(3) and ex-
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1 empt from tax under section 501(a), and such

2 contributions shall not be taken into account

3 for purposes of applying such subparagraphs to

4 other charitable contributions.’’

5 (c) CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY DUE DATE OF RE6 TURN.—Subsection (a) of section 170 of such Code (relat7 ing to charitable, etc., contributions and gifts) is amended

8 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

9 ‘‘(4) CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY INDIVIDUALS

10 BEFORE DUE DATE OF RETURN.—In the case of an

11 individual, if a charitable contribution is paid after

12 the close of a taxable year and on or before the due

13 date (determined without regard to extensions there14 of) of the return for such taxable year, then the tax15 payer may elect to treat such contribution as paid

16 during such taxable year. For purposes of this para17 graph, rules similar to the rules of the last sentence

18 of paragraph (2) shall apply.’’

19 (d) INFORMATION REGARDING COMBINED FEDERAL

20 CAMPAIGN.—With each mailing by the Secretary of the

21 Treasury of tax return forms to a taxpayer in a State,

22 such Secretary shall include a list of all charities which

23 participate in the Combined Federal Campaign within

24 such State.

25 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall apply to contributions made after

3 the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 (2) CREDIT FOR CHARITABLE CONTRIBU5 TIONS.—The amendments made by subsection (a)

6 shall apply to contributions made after December

7 31, 1996.

8 (3) INFORMATION REGARDING COMBINED FED9 ERAL CAMPAIGN.—Subsection (d) shall apply to

10 mailings with respect to taxable years ending after

11 date of enactment.

12 SEC. 102. CREDIT FOR PAYMENT OF WAGES WHILE EM13 PLOYEE VOLUNTEERS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part IV of sub15 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

16 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new

17 section:

18 ‘‘SEC. 30A. CREDIT FOR PAYMENT OF WAGES WHILE EM19 PLOYEE VOLUNTEERS.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an employer, there

21 shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by

22 this chapter an amount, with respect to each employee of

23 such employer, equal to 60 percent of the product of—

24 ‘‘(1) the number of hours of services performed

25 by such employee (without compensation other than
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1 by such employer) during the taxable year for an or2 ganization described in section 501(c)(3) and exempt

3 from tax under section 501(a), and

4 ‘‘(2) the hourly wage paid or accrued by such

5 employer to such employee for such hours.

6 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any em8 ployee—

9 ‘‘(A) the number of hours taken into ac10 count under subsection (a)(1) shall not exceed

11 52, and

12 ‘‘(B) the hourly wage taken into account

13 under subsection (a)(2) shall not exceed $20.00.

14 ‘‘(2) REGULAR PAY AS HOURLY WAGE.—In the

15 case of an employee other than a salaried employee,

16 the hourly wage taken into account under subsection

17 (a)(2) shall be determined on the basis of such em18 ployee’s regular pay and without regard to overtime

19 pay.

20 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON EMPLOYEES TAKEN INTO

21 ACCOUNT.—

22 ‘‘(A) NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES.—Not more

23 than 100 employees of an employer may be

24 taken into account under subsection (a) for any

25 taxable year.
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1 ‘‘(B) EMPLOYEES AND FORMER EMPLOY2 EES OF CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION.—Sub3 section (a) shall not apply with respect to serv4 ices performed by an individual for any organi5 zation if such individual, at any time during the

6 taxable year or the preceding taxable year, was

7 an employee of such organization.

8 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION WITH OTHER CREDITS.—

9 The credit allowed by subsection (a) for any taxable

10 year shall not exceed the excess (if any) of—

11 ‘‘(A) the regular tax for the taxable year

12 reduced by the sum of the credits allowable

13 under subpart A and sections 27, 28, 29, and

14 30, over

15 ‘‘(B) the tentative minimum tax for the

16 taxable year.

17 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION TO SALARIED EMPLOYEES.—

18 ‘‘(1) HOURLY WAGE EQUIVALENT.—For pur19 poses of this section, the hourly wage of any salaried

20 employee shall be treated as being—

21 ‘‘(A) the wages (as defined in section

22 3121(a)) of such employee from the employer

23 for the taxable year, divided by
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1 ‘‘(B) the number of hours worked by the

2 employee during the taxable year, determined

3 under regulations prescribed by the Secretary.

4 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE DURING NORMAL WORKING

5 HOURS.—Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to

6 services performed by a salaried employee only if

7 such services are performed during such employee’s

8 normal working hours (as determined under regula9 tions prescribed by the Secretary).

10 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION BY CHARITABLE ORGANIZA11 TION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to any

12 hour of service by an employee unless the employer re13 ceives, from the organization for which such service is per14 formed, a qualified certification that the employee pro15 vided such services to such organization for such hour. For

16 purposes of the preceding sentence, the term ‘qualified

17 certification’ means a written certification by an employee

18 of such organization who holds a position of responsibility

19 in such organization and has made every reasonable effort

20 (including supervision of such employer’s employee or del21 egation of such supervision to a qualified subordinate) to

22 ensure the accuracy of such certification.

23 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.—No

24 credit or deduction shall be allowed under any other provi-
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1 sion of this title for any amount for which a credit is al2 lowed under this section.

3 ‘‘(f) PARTNERS AND PARTNERSHIPS.—For purposes

4 of this section, in the case of any partnership—

5 ‘‘(1) the term ‘employer’ includes such partner6 ship, with respect to any partner, and

7 ‘‘(2) the term ‘employee’ includes a partner.’’

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

9 for subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1

10 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing new item:

‘‘Sec. 30A. Credit for payment of wages while employee volunteers.’’

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

13 this section shall apply to services performed after Decem14 ber 31, 1996.

15 TITLE II—VOLUNTEER

16 ENHANCEMENT

17 SEC. 201. COMPENSATORY TIME.

18 To give workers the scheduling flexibility they need

19 to more fully participate in charitable activities, section

20 7(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

21 207(o)) is amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘(o)(1) An employee may receive, in accordance with

23 this subsection and in lieu of monetary overtime com24 pensation, compensatory time off at a rate not less than
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11 1 ⁄2 hours for each hour of employment for which overtime

2 compensation is required by this section.

3 ‘‘(2) An employer may provide compensatory time

4 under paragraph (1) only pursuant to—

5 ‘‘(A) applicable provisions of a collective bar6 gaining agreement, memorandum of understanding,

7 or any other agreement between the employer and

8 representative of such employees; or

9 ‘‘(B) in the case of employees not covered by

10 subparagraph (A), an agreement or understanding

11 arrived at between the employer and employee before

12 the performance of the work.

13 ‘‘(3) An employee, who is not an employee of a public

14 agency, may accrue not more than 240 hours of compen15 satory time. Not later than January 31 of each calendar

16 year, the employee’s employer shall provide monetary com17 pensation for any compensatory time off accrued during

18 the preceding calendar year which was not used prior to

19 December 31 of the preceding year at a rate not less than

11 20 ⁄2 times the regular rate earned by the employee at the

21 time the employee receives such payment. An employer

22 may designate and communicate to the employer’s employ23 ees a 12-month period other than the calendar year, in

24 which case such compensation shall be provided not later

25 than 31 days after the end of such 12-month period.
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1 ‘‘(4) If the work of an employee of a public agency

2 for which compensatory time may be provided included

3 work in a public safety activity, an emergency response

4 activity, or a seasonal activity, the employee engaged in

5 such work may accrue not more than 480 hours of com6 pensatory time for hours worked after April 15, 1986. If

7 such work was any other work, the employee engaged in

8 such work may accrue not more than 240 hours of com9 pensatory time for hours worked after April 15, 1986. Any

10 such employee who, after April 15, 1986, has accrued 480

11 or 240 hours, as the case may be, of compensatory time

12 off shall, for additional overtime hours of work, be paid

13 overtime compensation.

14 ‘‘(5) An employee who has accrued compensatory

15 time off authorized to be provided under paragraph (1)

16 shall, upon termination of employment, be paid for the un17 used compensatory time at a rate of compensation not less

18 than—

19 ‘‘(A) the average regular rate received by such

20 employee during the last 3 years of the employee’s

21 employment, or

22 ‘‘(B) the final regular rate received by such em23 ployee, whichever is higher.

24 ‘‘(6) An employee—
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1 ‘‘(A) who has accrued compensatory time off

2 authorized to be provided under paragraph (1), and

3 ‘‘(B) who has requested the use of such com4 pensatory time,

5 shall be permitted by the employee’s employer to use such

6 time within a reasonable period after making the request

7 if the use of the compensatory time does not unduly dis8 rupt the operations of the employer.

9 ‘‘(7) For purposes of this subsection—

10 ‘‘(A) the term ‘overtime compensation’ means

11 the compensation required by subsection (a), and

12 ‘‘(B) the terms ‘compensatory time’ and ‘com13 pensatory time off’ mean hours during which an em14 ployee is not working, which are not counted as

15 hours worked during the applicable workweek or

16 other work period for purposes of overtime com17 pensation, and for which the employee is com18 pensated at the employee’s regular rate.’’.
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1 TITLE III—COMMON SENSE

2 LEGAL AND REGULATORY RE3 FORMS FOR CHARITIES.

4 Subtitle A—Liability of Certain Tax

5 Exempt Organizations Under

6 CERCLA

7 SEC. 301. LIMITATION FOR CERTAIN TAX EXEMPT ORGANI8 ZATIONS.

9 (a) EXEMPTIONS.—Section 107 of the Comprehen10 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil11 ity Act of 1980 is amended by adding the following new

12 subsection after subsection (m):

13 ‘‘(n) LIMITATION FOR CERTAIN TAX EXEMPT ORGA14 NIZATIONS.—No organization described in section

15 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and ex16 empt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code shall

17 be liable under this section or section 106 with respect

18 to a release or threatened release from a facility if such

19 organization’s liability is based solely on the person’s sta20 tus under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) as owner of the

21 facility unless such organization—

22 ‘‘(1) was the sole owner of such facility during

23 the period when hazardous substances, pollutants, or

24 contaminants were placed at the facility;
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1 ‘‘(2) the person seeking to hold such organiza2 tion liable provides specific evidence that—

3 ‘‘(A) the organization caused or contrib4 uted, or participated in causing or contributing,

5 to a release or threat of release at the facility;

6 and

7 ‘‘(B) failed to exercise due care with re8 spect to the hazardous substance or pollutant

9 or contaminant concerned, including pre10 cautions against foreseeable acts of third par11 ties, taking into consideration the characteris12 tics of such hazardous substance, in light of all

13 relevant facts and circumstances.

14 The exemption provided by this subsection shall not apply

15 in the case of an organization that is the sole owner of

16 the facility concerned.’’

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

18 subsection (a) shall take effect with respect to all actions

19 brought before, on, or after the enactment of this Act

20 other than an action in which final judgment has been

21 rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction before the

22 date of enactment of this Act or an action that has been

23 resolved by a judicially approved settlement before such

24 date of enactment.
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1 Subtitle B—Liability of Certain Tax

2 Exempt Organizations Under

3 OSHA

4 SEC. 311. NOTICE OF VIOLATION.

5 Section 9 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

6 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 658) is amended by adding at the end

7 the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(d)(1) In the case of an employer described in sec9 tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and

10 exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code,

11 this subsection shall apply in lieu of subsection (a). Except

12 as provided in subsection (b), in the case of an employer

13 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

14 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section

15 501(a) of such Code, if, upon inspection or investigation,

16 the Secretary or the Secretary’s authorized representative

17 believes that such employer or an employee of such an em18 ployer has violated a requirement of section 5, of any

19 standard, rule or order prescribed pursuant to section 6,

20 or of any regulations prescribed pursuant to this Act, the

21 Secretary shall with reasonable promptness so notify the

22 employer. Each such notice shall be in writing and shall

23 describe with particularity the nature of the violation and

24 the recommendations for abatement. In addition, the no25 tice shall fix a reasonable time for abatement of the al-
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1 leged violation. Such time for abatement shall be not less

2 than 30 days, except that a shorter period may be allowed

3 if the condition constitutes a direct threat to employees

4 and a shorter period is reasonable under all of the cir5 cumstances.

6 ‘‘(2) If upon a follow up inspection the Secretary be7 lieves that a violation of a standard, rule, or order pre8 scribed under section 6, or a violation of any regulation

9 prescribed pursuant to this Act, previously identified in

10 a notice as provided in paragraph (1), remains and the

11 time provided for its abatement has expired, the Secretary

12 may issue a citation to the employer. Each such citation

13 shall be in writing and shall describe with particularity

14 the nature of the violation, including a reference to the

15 provision of the Act, standard, rule, regulation, or order

16 alleged to have been violated. Notwithstanding the issu17 ance of a notice under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall

18 not issue a citation under this paragraph with respect to

19 de minimis violations which have no direct or immediate

20 relationship to safety or health. For purposes of this para21 graph, a violation of any requirement for posting, record22 keeping, reporting, notification, or compiling or maintain23 ing written documents or records shall be considered a de

24 minimis violation unless the Secretary establishes that

25 such violation has a direct relationship to the safety or
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1 health of employees or reflects an intent to mislead or de2 ceive the Secretary or any employee. For purposes of this

3 Act, a citation issued under this paragraph shall be treat4 ed as a citation issued under subsection (a).

5 ‘‘(3) The notice required in paragraph (1) before is6 suance of a citation shall not be required in the case of

7 any alleged violation causing death or serious injury to

8 an employee or which constitutes an imminent danger to

9 an employee.’’.

10 SEC. 312. EMPLOYER DEFENSES.

11 Section 9 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

12 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 658), as amended by section 311, is

13 amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(f) No citation with respect to an alleged violation

15 may be issued under subsection (b) to an employer de16 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code

17 of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such

18 Code, unless the employer knew or with the exercise of

19 reasonable diligence would have known of the presence of

20 such alleged violation. No citation shall be issued under

21 subsection (b) to such an employer for an alleged violation

22 of any standard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to

23 section 6, or any other regulation promulgated under this

24 Act if such employer demonstrates that—
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1 ‘‘(1) employees of such employer have been pro2 vided with any training and equipment required by

3 the standard or rule at issue;

4 ‘‘(2) work rules designed to prevent such a vio5 lation have been established and communicated to

6 employees by such employer and the employer has

7 taken reasonable measures to implement such work

8 rules and to discipline employees when violations of

9 such work rules have been discovered; and

10 ‘‘(3) the failure of employees to observe work

11 rules led to the violation.

12 ‘‘(g) A citation issued under subsection (b) to an em13 ployer described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Reve14 nue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section

15 501(a) of such Code, who violates the requirements of any

16 standard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to section

17 6 or any other regulation promulgated under this Act shall

18 be vacated if such employer demonstrates that employees

19 of such employer were protected by alternative methods

20 substantially equal or more protective of the employee’s

21 safety and health than those required by such standard,

22 rule, order, or regulation in the factual circumstances un23 derlying the citation.

24 ‘‘(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in

25 the case of an employer described in section 501(c)(3) of
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1 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax

2 under section 501(a) of such Code, compliance with a re3 quirement under this Act or any other Federal regulatory

4 requirement designed to protect human health or safety

5 shall be a defense against a citation or any civil or admin6 istrative action for a violation of a requirement under this

7 or any other law, where the requirements under the 2 laws

8 are potentially in conflict. For purposes of this subsection,

9 the term ‘potentially in conflict’ means a requirement that

10 overlaps with, is inconsistent with, or conflicts with, a re11 quirement under this Act, and includes labeling require12 ments for the same product and training requirements

13 that are related to the same hazard.

14 ‘‘(i) Subsections (f), (g), and (h) shall not be con15 strued to eliminate or modify other defenses which may

16 exist to any citation.’’.

17 Subtitle C—Fair Labor Standards

18 Act Obligations of Certain Tax

19 Exempt Organizations

20 SEC. 321. FLEXIBLE AND COMPRESSED SCHEDULES.

21 The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended

22 by inserting after section 13 (29 U.S.C. 213) the following

23 new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 13A. FLEXIBLE AND COMPRESSED SCHEDULES.

2 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to bal3 ance the demands of workplaces with the needs of families

4 in the United States.

5 ‘‘(b) COMPRESSED SCHEDULES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

7 provision of law, a tax-exempt employer may estab8 lish programs that allow the use of a compressed

9 schedule that consists of—

10 ‘‘(A) in the case of a schedule of a full11 time employee, a 160-hour basic work require12 ment, over a 4-week period, that is scheduled

13 for less than 20 workdays; and

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of a schedule of a part15 time employee, a basic work requirement of less

16 than 160 hours, over a 4-week period, that is

17 scheduled for less than 20 workdays.

18 ‘‘(2) OVERTIME COMPENSATION PROVISIONS.—

19 Section 7 and any other provision of law that relates

20 to premium pay for overtime work shall not apply to

21 the hours that constitute such a compressed sched22 ule.

23 ‘‘(3) COMPUTATION OF OVERTIME.—In the case

24 of any full-time employee, hours worked in excess of

25 such a compressed schedule shall be overtime hours

26 and shall be paid for as provided by the applicable
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1 provisions referred to in paragraph (2). In the case

2 of any part-time employee on such a compressed

3 schedule, overtime pay shall begin to be paid after

4 the same number of hours of work after which a

5 full-time employee on a similar schedule would begin

6 to receive overtime pay.

7 ‘‘(c) FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

9 provision of law, a tax-exempt employer may estab10 lish programs that allow the use of flexible schedules

11 that include—

12 ‘‘(A) designated hours and days during

13 which an employee on such a schedule must be

14 present for work; and

15 ‘‘(B) designated hours during which an

16 employee on such a schedule may elect the time

17 of the arrival of such employee at and depar18 ture of such employee from work, solely for

19 such purpose or, if and to the extent permitted,

20 for the purpose of accumulating credit hours to

21 reduce the length of the workweek or another

22 workday.

23 ‘‘(2) OVERTIME COMPENSATION PROVISIONS.—

24 For purposes of determining compensation for over-
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1 time hours in the case of an employee participating

2 in a program under this subsection—

3 ‘‘(A) the tax-exempt employer may, on re4 quest of the employee, grant the employee com5 pensatory time off in lieu of payment for such

6 overtime hours, whether or not irregular or oc7 casional in nature and notwithstanding section

8 7 or any other provision of law; or

9 ‘‘(B) the employee shall be compensated

10 for such overtime hours in accordance with such

11 provisions, as applicable.

12 ‘‘(3) COMPUTATION OF OVERTIME.—Notwith13 standing the provisions of law referred to in para14 graph (2)(A), an employee shall not be entitled to be

15 compensated for credit hours worked except to the

16 extent such employee is allowed to have such hours

17 taken into account with respect to the basic work re18 quirement of the employee.

19 ‘‘(4) ACCUMULATION AND COMPENSATION.—

20 ‘‘(A) ACCUMULATION.—A full-time em21 ployee on a flexible schedule under this sub22 section can accumulate not more than 48 credit

23 hours, and a part-time employee can accumulate not more than 1 24 ⁄4 of the hours in the basic

25 work requirement, over a 4-week period, of the
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1 employee, for carryover from a 4-week period to

2 a succeeding 4-week period for credit to the

3 basic work requirement for such period.

4 ‘‘(B) COMPENSATION.—Any employee who

5 is on a flexible schedule program under this

6 subsection and who is no longer subject to such

7 a program shall be paid at the then current

8 rate of basic pay of the employee for—

9 ‘‘(i) in the case of a full-time em10 ployee, not more than 48 credit hours ac11 cumulated by such employee; or

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a part-time em13 ployee, the number of credit hours (not in

excess of 1 14 ⁄4 of the hours in the basic work

15 requirement, over a 4-week period, of the

16 employee) accumulated by such employee.

17 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (3), no employee may be required to partici20 pate in a program described in this section.

21 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF COERCION.—

22 ‘‘(A) An employer may not directly or indi23 rectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or at24 tempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any

25 employee for the purpose of interfering with
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1 such employee’s rights under this section to

2 elect a time of arrival or departure, to elect or

3 not to elect to work a compressed work sched4 ule, to work or not to work credit hours, or to

5 request or not to request compensatory time off

6 in lieu of payment for overtime hours.

7 ‘‘(B) For the purpose of subsection (A),

8 the term ‘intimidate, threaten, or coerce’ in9 cludes, but is not limited to, promising to con10 fer or conferring any benefit (such as appoint11 ment, promotion, or compensation), or effecting

12 or threatening to effect any reprisal (such as

13 deprivation of appointment, promotion, or com14 pensation).’’

15 ‘‘(3) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.—

16 In a case in which a valid collective bargaining

17 agreement exists, an employee may only be required

18 to participate in such a program in accordance with

19 the agreement.

20 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION OF PROGRAMS IN THE CASE OF

21 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—

22 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS.—In the case

23 of employees in a unit represented by an exclusive

24 representative, any flexible or compressed schedule

25 described in subsection (b) or (c), respectively, and
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1 the establishment and termination of any such

2 schedule, shall be subject to the provisions of this

3 section and the terms of a collective bargaining

4 agreement between the employer and the exclusive

5 representative.

6 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION OF EMPLOYEES.—Employees

7 within a unit represented by an exclusive representa8 tive shall not be included within any program under

9 this section except to the extent expressly provided

10 under a collective bargaining agreement between the

11 employer and the exclusive representative.

12 ‘‘(3) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—

13 Nothing in this section shall be construed to dimin14 ish the obligation of an employer to comply with any

15 collective bargaining agreement or any employment

16 benefits program or plan that provides lesser or

17 greater rights to employees than the benefits estab18 lished under this section.

19 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—

20 ‘‘(1) BASIC WORK REQUIREMENT.—The term

21 ‘basic work requirement’ means the number of

22 hours, excluding overtime hours, that an employee is

23 required to work or is required to account for by

24 leave or otherwise.
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1 ‘‘(2) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—The term ‘col2 lective bargaining’ means the performance of the

3 mutual obligation of the representative of an em4 ployer and the exclusive representative of employees

5 in an appropriate unit to meet at reasonable times

6 and to consult and bargain in a good-faith effort to

7 reach agreement with respect to the conditions of

8 employment affecting such employees and to exe9 cute, if requested by either party, a written docu10 ment incorporating any collective bargaining agree11 ment reached, but the obligation referred to in this

12 paragraph does not compel either party to agree to

13 a proposal or to make a concession.

14 ‘‘(3) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.—

15 The term ‘collective bargaining agreement’ means an

16 agreement entered into as a result of collective bar17 gaining.

18 ‘‘(4) CREDIT HOURS.—The term ‘credit hours’

19 means any hours, within a flexible schedule estab20 lished under subsection (c), that are in excess of the

21 basic work requirement of an employee and that the

22 employee elects to work so as to vary the length of

23 a workweek or a workday.

24 ‘‘(5) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’ means

25 an employee, as defined in section 3, except that the
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1 term shall not include an employee, as defined in

2 section 6121(2) of title 5, United States Code.

3 ‘‘(6) EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVE.—The term

4 ‘exclusive representative’ means any labor organiza5 tion that—

6 ‘‘(A) is certified as the exclusive represent7 ative of employees in an appropriate unit pursu8 ant to Federal law; or

9 ‘‘(B) was recognized by an employer imme10 diately before the date of enactment of this sec11 tion as the exclusive representative of employees

12 in an appropriate unit—

13 ‘‘(i) on the basis of an election; or

14 ‘‘(ii) on any basis other than an elec15 tion;

16 and continues to be so recognized.

17 ‘‘(7) OVERTIME HOURS.—The term ‘overtime

18 hours’—

19 ‘‘(A) when used with respect to flexible

20 schedule programs under subsection (c), means

21 all hours in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40

22 hours in a week that are officially ordered in

23 advance, but does not include credit hours; and

24 ‘‘(B) when used with respect to compressed

25 schedule programs under subsection (b), means
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1 any hours in excess of the specified hours that

2 constitute the compressed schedule.

3 ‘‘(8) TAX-EXEMPT EMPLOYER.—The term ‘tax4 exempt employer’ means an employer, as defined in

5 section 3, which is described in section 501(c)(3) of

6 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from

7 tax under section 501(a) of such Code, except that

8 the term shall not include any person acting in rela9 tion to an employee, as defined in section 6121(2)

10 of title 5, United States Code.’’

11 Subtitle D—Limited Damages in

12 Negligence Claims

13 SEC. 331. SUITS AGAINST CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.

14 In any civil action brought for negligence against an

15 organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal

16 Revenue Code of 1986 the amount of non-economic dam17 ages that may be recovered may be not more than

18 $250,000.

19 Subtitle E—Volunteer Protection

20 SEC. 332. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

21 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds and declares

22 that—

23 (1) the willingness of volunteers to offer their

24 services is deterred by potential personal liability for
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1 simple mistakes made in the course of volunteer

2 service;

3 (2) as a result, many nonprofit public and pri4 vate organizations and governmental entities, includ5 ing voluntary associations, social service agencies,

6 educational institutions, local governments, founda7 tions, and other civic programs, have been adversely

8 affected through the withdrawal of volunteers from

9 boards of directors and service in other capacities;

10 (3) the contribution of these programs to their

11 communities is thereby diminished, resulting in

12 fewer and higher cost programs than would be ob13 tainable if volunteers were participating; and

14 (4) because Federal funds are expended on use15 ful and cost-effective social service programs which

16 depend heavily on volunteer participation, protection

17 of voluntarism through clarification and limitation of

18 the personal liability risks assumed by the volunteer

19 in connection with such participation is an appro20 priate subject for Federal encouragement of State

21 reform.

22 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro23 mote the interests of social service program beneficiaries

24 and taxpayers and to sustain the availability of programs

25 and nonprofit organizations and governmental entities
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1 which depend on volunteer contributions by encouraging

2 reasonable reform of State laws to provide protection from

3 personal financial liability to volunteers serving with non4 profit organizations and governmental entities for actions

5 undertaken in good faith on behalf of such organizations.

6 SEC. 333. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE TORT LAW.

7 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt the

8 laws of any State governing tort liability actions.

9 SEC. 334. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTEERS.

10 (a) LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR VOLUNTEERS.—Ex11 cept as provided in subsections (b) and (d), any volunteer

12 of a nonprofit organization or governmental entity shall

13 incur no personal financial liability for any tort claim al14 leging damage or injury from any act or omission of the

15 volunteer on behalf of the organization or entity if—

16 (1) such volunteer was acting in good faith and

17 within the scope of such volunteer’s official functions

18 and duties with the organization or entity; and

19 (2) such damage or injury was not caused by

20 willful and wanton misconduct by such volunteer.

21 (b) CONCERNING RESPONSIBILITY OF VOLUNTEERS

22 WITH RESPECT TO ORGANIZATIONS.—Nothing in this

23 section shall be construed to affect any civil action brought

24 by any nonprofit organization or any governmental entity

25 against any volunteer of such organization or entity.
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1 (c) NO EFFECT ON LIABILITY OF ORGANIZATION.—

2 Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the

3 liability of any nonprofit organization or governmental en4 tity with respect to injury caused to any person.

5 (d) EXCEPTIONS TO VOLUNTEER LIABILITY PRO6 TECTION.—A State may impose one or more of the follow7 ing conditions on and exceptions to the granting of liabil8 ity protection to any volunteer of an organization or entity

9 required by subsection (a):

10 (1) The organization or entity must adhere to

11 risk management procedures, including mandatory

12 training of volunteers, as defined by the Secretary of

13 Health and Human Services by regulation.

14 (2) The organization or entity shall be liable for

15 the acts or omissions of its volunteers to the same

16 extent as an employer is liable, under the laws of

17 that State, for the acts or omissions of its employ18 ees.

19 (3) The protection from liability does not

20 apply—

21 (A) if the volunteer was operating a motor

22 vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other vehicle for

23 which the State involved requires the operator

24 or vehicle owner to maintain insurance;
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1 (B) in the case of a suit brought by an ap2 propriate officer of a State or local government

3 to enforce a Federal, State, or local law; and

4 (C) to the extent the claim would be cov5 ered under any insurance policy.

6 (4) The protection from liability shall apply

7 only if the organization or entity provides a finan8 cially secure source of recovery for individuals who

9 suffer injury as a result of actions taken by a volun10 teer on behalf of the organization or entity. A finan11 cially secure source of recovery may be an insurance

12 policy within specified limits, comparable coverage

13 from a risk pooling mechanism, equivalent assets, or

14 alternative arrangements that satisfy the State that

15 the entity will be able to pay for losses up to a speci16 fied amount. Separate standards for different types

17 of liability exposure may be specified.

18 SEC. 335. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT AND ADJUST19 MENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES BLOCK GRANT

20 ALLOTMENTS.

21 (a) CERTIFICATION AND BLOCK GRANT ALLOT22 MENTS.—In the case of any State which certifies, not later

23 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,

24 to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that it

25 has enacted, adopted, or otherwise has in effect State law
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1 which substantially complies with section 4(a), the Sec2 retary shall increase by 1 percent the fiscal year allotment

3 which would otherwise be made to such State to carry out

4 the Social Services Block Grant Program under title XX

5 of the Social Security Act.

6 (b) CONTINUATION OF INCREASE.—Any increase

7 made under subsection (a) in an allotment to a State shall

8 remain in effect only if the State makes a certification

9 to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, not later

10 than the end of each 1-year period occurring successively

11 after the end of the 2-year period described in subsection

12 (a), that it has in effect State law which substantially com13 plies with section 4(a).

14 SEC. 336. DEFINITIONS.

15 For purposes of this subtitle—

16 (1) the term ‘‘volunteer’’ means an individual

17 performing services for a nonprofit organization or

18 a governmental entity who does not receive—

19 (A) compensation (including reimburse20 ment or allowance for expenses), or

21 (B) any other thing of value in lieu of com22 pensation,

23 in excess of $300, and such term includes a volun24 teer serving as a director, officer, trustee, or direct

25 service volunteer;
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1 (2) the term ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means

2 any organization described in section 501(c)(3) of

3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from

4 tax under section 501(a) of such Code;

5 (3) the term ‘‘damage or injury’’ includes phys6 ical, nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic dam7 age; and

8 (4) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several

9 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth

10 of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American

11 Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, any other

12 territory or possession of the United States, or any

13 political subdivision of any such State, territory, or

14 possession.

15 Subtitle F—Charitable Medical

16 Care

17 SEC. 341. EXEMPTION OF HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

18 FROM NEGLIGENCE LIABILITY IN THE PROVI19 SION OF CERTAIN HEALTH CARE SERVICES

20 WITHOUT CHARGE.

21 (a) LIMITED LIABILITY.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), a

23 health care professional who is licensed or certified

24 to furnish health care services by the appropriate

25 authorities for practice in a State shall not be liable
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1 for any civil damages for any act or omission result2 ing from the rendering of a health care service de3 scribed in paragraph (2) unless the act or omission

4 was the result of gross negligence or willful mis5 conduct.

6 (2) HEALTH CARE SERVICE DESCRIBED.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A health care service

8 described in this paragraph is a health care

9 service which is—

10 (i) voluntarily rendered by a health

11 care professional—

12 (I) within the scope of the health

13 care professional’s license or certifi14 cation; and

15 (II) without charge to the recipi16 ent of such service (or any health in17 surance plan or program under which

18 the recipient is covered); and

19 (ii) offered and rendered in, or upon

20 referral from, a free medical clinic.

21 (B) FREE MEDICAL CLINIC.—

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of

23 subparagraph (A)(iii), a free medical clinic

24 is a private, not-for-profit entity which—
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1 (I) is described in section

2 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

3 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax4 ation under section 501(a);

5 (II) is licensed if required by the

6 State in which it is located; and

7 (III) provides free outpatient

8 health care services, a majority of

9 which are rendered to individuals

10 whose income does not exceed 200

11 percent of the poverty line.

12 (ii) POVERTY LINE.—For purposes of

13 clause (i)(III), the term ‘‘poverty line’’ has

14 the same meaning given such term in sec15 tion 673(2) of the Community Services

16 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)).

17 (b) REQUIREMENTS PRIOR TO FURNISHING THE

18 SERVICE.—Subsection (a)(1) shall apply only if a health

19 care professional before furnishing a health care service—

20 (1) agrees to furnish the health care service vol21 untarily and without charge to the recipient of such

22 service (or any health insurance plan or program

23 under which the recipient is covered); and

24 (2) provides the recipient of the health care

25 service with adequate notice, as determined by the
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1 Secretary of Health and Human Services, of the

2 health care professional’s limited liability with re3 spect to the service.

4 (c) PREEMPTION.—The provisions of this section

5 shall preempt any State law to the extent such law is in6 consistent with such provisions. The provisions of this sec7 tion shall not preempt any State law that provides greater

8 incentives or protections to a health care professional ren9 dering a health care service described in subsection (a)(2).

10 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with

11 respect to health care services furnished on or after the

12 date of the enactment of this Act.

13 Subtitle G—Property Access

14 SEC. 351. PROPERTY ACCESS.

15 Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act

16 is amended by adding after ‘‘section 7’’ the following:

17 ‘‘Provided, That an employer is not required to allow ac18 cess to its business property to employees or nonemployees

19 for purposes of union organizing, solicitation, distribution,

20 picketing, or other union advocacy or activities, even if the

21 employer allows such access to organizations for chari22 table, civic, or religious purposes.’’.
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1 Subtitle H—Volunteer Firefighter

2 and Rescue Squad Worker Pro3 tection

4 SEC. 361. FIREFIGHTER AND RESCUE SQUAD SERVICES.

5 Paragraph (4) of section 3(e) of the Fair Labor

6 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 303(e)) is amended by

7 adding after subparagraph (B) the following:

8 ‘‘(C) The term ‘employee’ does not include a fire9 fighter or a member of a rescue squad during the period

10 in which the firefighter or rescue squad member volunteers

11 the firefighter’s or member’s services at a location where

12 the firefighter or member is not then or regularly em13 ployed.’’.

14 SEC. 362. WAIVER OF OVERTIME COMPENSATION.

15 The employer of a firefighter or member of a rescue

16 squad is not required to pay the firefighter or member

17 overtime compensation under section 7 of the Fair Labor

18 Standards Act of 1938 for a period—

19 (1) when the firefighter or member volunteered

20 their services to the employer, and

21 (2) for which the firefighter or member signed

22 a legally binding waiver of such compensation.
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1 SEC. 363. COERCION.

2 Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

3 (29 U.S.C. 207) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(r) No employer may require (directly or indi6 rectly) an employee who is a firefighter or member

7 of a rescue squad to volunteer the employee’s fire8 fighting or rescue squad services during any period

9 in which such employee would be entitled to receive

10 compensation for overtime employment under sub11 section (a) if section 3(e)(4)(C) was not in effect.’’.

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