IIA
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 20, 1997
Received; read twice and returned to the Committee on Labor and Human
Resources
AN ACT
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide
compensatory time for employees in the private sector.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Working Families
Flexibility Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. COMPENSATORY TIME.
Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
(29 U.S.C. 207) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(r) COMPENSATORY TIME OFF FOR PRIVATE EM-
PLOYEES.—
‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—
‘‘(A) COMPENSATORY TIME OFF.—An em-
ployee may receive, in accordance with this sub-
section and in lieu of monetary overtime com-
pensation, compensatory time off at a rate not
less than one and one-half hours for each hour
of employment for which overtime compensation
is required by this section.
‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this
subsection, the term ‘employee’ does not include
an employee of a public agency.
‘‘(2) CONDITIONS.—An employer may provide
compensatory time to employees under paragraph
(1)(A) only if such time is provided in accordance
with—
‘‘(A) applicable provisions of a collective
bargaining agreement between the employer
and the labor organization which has been cer-
tified or recognized as the representative of the
employees under applicable law, or
‘‘(B) in the case of employees who are not
represented by a labor organization which has
been certified or recognized as the representa-
tive of such employees under applicable law, an
agreement arrived at between the employer and
employee before the performance of the work
and affirmed by a written or otherwise verifi-
able record maintained in accordance with sec-
tion 11(c)—
‘‘(i) in which the employer has offered
and the employee has chosen to receive
compensatory time in lieu of monetary
overtime compensation; and
‘‘(ii) entered into knowingly and vol-
untarily by such employees and not as a
condition of employment.
No employee may receive or agree to receive com-
pensatory time off under this subsection unless the
employee has worked at least 1000 hours for the
employee’s employer during a period of continuous
employment with the employer in the 12 month pe-
riod before the date of agreement or receipt of com-
pensatory time off.
‘‘(3) HOUR LIMIT.—
‘‘(A) MAXIMUM
HOURS.—An employee
may accrue not more than 160 hours of com-
pensatory time.
‘‘(B) COMPENSATION
DATE.—Not later
than January 31 of each calendar year, the em-
ployee’s employer shall provide monetary com-
pensation for any unused compensatory time off
accrued during the preceding calendar year
which was not used prior to December 31 of the
preceding year at the rate prescribed by para-
graph (6). An employer may designate and
communicate to the employer’s employees a 12-
month period other than the calendar year, in
which case such compensation shall be provided
not later than 31 days after the end of such 12-
month period.
‘‘(C) EXCESS
OF
HOURS.—The em-
ployer may provide monetary compensation for
an employee’s unused compensatory time in ex-
cess of 80 hours at any time after giving the
employee at least 30 days notice. Such com-
pensation shall be provided at the rate pre-
scribed by paragraph (6).
‘‘(D) POLICY.—Except where a collective
bargaining agreement provides otherwise, an
employer which has adopted a policy offering
compensatory time to employees may dis-
continue such policy upon giving employees 30
days notice.
‘‘(E) WRITTEN
REQUEST.—An employee
may withdraw an agreement described in para-
graph (2)(B) at any time. An employee may
also request in writing that monetary com-
pensation be provided, at any time, for all com-
pensatory time accrued which has not yet been
used. Within 30 days of receiving the written
request, the employer shall provide the em-
ployee the monetary compensation due in ac-
cordance with paragraph (6).
‘‘(4) PRIVATE
EMPLOYER
ACTIONS.—An em-
ployer which provides compensatory time under
paragraph (1) to employees shall not directly or indi-
rectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce or attempt to
intimidate, threaten, or coerce any employee for the
purpose of—
‘‘(A) interfering with such employee’s
rights under this subsection to request or not
request compensatory time off in lieu of pay-
ment of monetary overtime compensation for
overtime hours; or
‘‘(B) requiring any employee to use such
compensatory time.
‘‘(5) TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT.—An em-
ployee who has accrued compensatory time off au-
thorized to be provided under paragraph (1) shall,
upon the voluntary or involuntary termination of
employment, be paid for the unused compensatory
time in accordance with paragraph (6).
‘‘(6) RATE OF COMPENSATION.—
‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—If compensation is
to be paid to an employee for accrued compen-
satory time off, such compensation shall be paid
at a rate of compensation not less than—
‘‘(i) the regular rate received by such
employee when the compensatory time was
earned, or
‘‘(ii) the final regular rate received by
such employee,
whichever is higher.
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF PAYMENT.—Any
payment owed to an employee under this sub-
section for unused compensatory time shall be
considered unpaid overtime compensation.
‘‘(7) USE OF TIME.—An employee—
‘‘(A) who has accrued compensatory time
off authorized to be provided under paragraph
(1), and
‘‘(B) who has requested the use of such
compensatory time,
shall be permitted by the employee’s employer to use
such time within a reasonable period after making
the request if the use of the compensatory time does
not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘overtime com-
pensation’ and ‘compensatory time’ shall have the
meanings given such terms by subsection (o)(7).’’.
SEC. 3. REMEDIES.
Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
(29 U.S.C. 216) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘(b) Any em-
ployer’’ and inserting ‘‘(b) Except as provided in
subsection (f), any employer’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(f) An employer which violates section 7(r)(4) shall
be liable to the employee affected in the amount of the
rate of compensation (determined in accordance with sec-
tion 7(r)(6)(A)) for each hour of compensatory time ac-
crued by the employee and in an additional equal amount
as liquidated damages reduced by the amount of such rate
of compensation for each hour of compensatory time used
by such employee.’’.
SEC. 4. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES.
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall revise the
materials the Secretary provides, under regulations pub-
lished at 29 C.F.R. 516.4, to employers for purposes of
a notice explaining the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
to employees so that such notice reflects the amendments
made to such Act by this Act.
SEC. 5. SUNSET.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall
expire 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives March 19,
1997.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.