I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3657
To provide pay equity and labor protection for contingent workers and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 13, 1996
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, and in addition to
the Committees on Ways and Means, Government Reform and Oversight,
and House Oversight, 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 provide pay equity and labor protection for contingent
workers and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Contingent Work
Force Equity Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. EQUAL PAY.
Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
(29 U.S.C. 206) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(g)(1) No employer having employees subject to any
provision of this section shall discriminate, within any es-
tablishment in which such employees are employed, be-
tween employees on the basis of employment status by
paying wages to part-time or temporary employees in such
establishment at a rate less than the rate at which the
employer pays wages to full-time employees in such estab-
lishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which
requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and which
are performed under similar working conditions unless
such payment is made pursuant to—
‘‘(A) a seniority system;
‘‘(B) a merit system;
‘‘(C) a system that measures earnings by quan-
tity or quality of production; or
‘‘(D) a differential based on any other factor
other than employment status.
An employer who is paying a wage rate differential in vio-
lation of this paragraph shall not, in order to comply with
the requirements of this paragraph, reduce the wage rate
of any employee.
‘‘(2) No labor organization, or its agents, represent-
ing employees of an employer having employees subject to
any provision of this section shall cause or attempt to
cause such an employer to discriminate against an em-
ployee in violation of paragraph (1).
‘‘(3) For purposes of administration and enforcement
of paragraph (1), any amount owing to any employee that
has been withheld in violation of paragraph (1) shall be
deemed to be unpaid minimum wages under subsection (a)
or unpaid overtime compensation under section 7.
‘‘(4) As used in paragraph (2), the term ‘labor orga-
nization’ means any organization of any kind, or any agen-
cy or employee representation committee or plan, in which
employees participate and which exists for the purpose,
in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning
grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of
employment, or conditions of work.’’.
SEC. 3. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C.
654(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) shall furnish employment and a place of
employment that are free from recognized hazards
that are causing or are likely to cause death or seri-
ous physical harm to the employees of the employer
or to individuals who are employed by another em-
ployer and are performing services at such place of
employment;’’.
(b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Labor shall conduct
a study to determine if the health and safety of part-time
or temporary employees are being adequately monitored
and, if the monitoring is not adequate, to determine how
such monitoring can be made adequate.
SEC. 4. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE.
(a) FAMILY
AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT.—Section
101(2)(A) of the Family and Medical Leave Act (29
U.S.C. 2611(2)(A)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘at least 12 months’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘at least 3 months’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘at least 1,250 hours of service
with such employer during the previous 12-month
period’’ and inserting ‘‘at least 125 hours of service
with such employer during the previous 3-month pe-
riod’’.
(b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Section 6381(1)(B) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘12
months’’ and inserting ‘‘3 months’’.
(c) 
CONGRESSIONAL
EMPLOYEES.—Section
202(a)(2)(B) of the Congressional Accountability Act of
1995 is amended—
from a unit otherwise appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining based on the employee’s
part-time or temporary status, if such employee (A)
has a reasonable expectation of continued employ-
ment; and (B) is employed by the employer on the
date on which eligibility for participation in a rep-
resentation election is determined and on the date of
the election.’’.
SEC. 7. PROTECTION OF PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY
WORKERS.
(a) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES WORKING AT LESS
THAN FULL-TIME UNDER PARTICIPATION, VESTING, AND
ACCRUAL RULES GOVERNING PENSION PLANS.—
(1) PARTICIPATION RULES.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(3) of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1052(a)(3)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subpara-
graph:
‘‘(E)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case
of any employee who, as of the beginning of the 12-month
period referred to in subparagraph (A)—
‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more
hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours
of service per year, or
‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which
employment customarily constitutes 500 or more
hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours
of service per year,
completion of 500 hours of service within such 12-month
period shall be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of
service.
‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent
to which employment in any type of position customarily
constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall
be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord-
ance with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe
providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe-
culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in
such plan.’’.
(B) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
204(b)(1)(E) 
of 
such 
Act 
(29 
U.S.C.
1054(b)(1)(E)) is amended by striking ‘‘section
202(a)(3)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs
(A) and (E) of section 202(a)(3)’’.
(2) VESTING RULES.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Section 203(b)(2) of
such Act (29 U.S.C. 1053(b)(2)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subpara-
graph:
‘‘(E)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case
of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period
designated by the plan pursuant to subparagraph (A)—
‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more
hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours
of service per year, or
‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which
employment customarily constitutes 500 or more
hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours
of service per year,
completion of 500 hours of service within such period shall
be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service.
‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent
to which employment in any type of position customarily
constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall
be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord-
ance with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe
providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe-
culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in
such plan.’’.
(B) 1-YEAR BREAKS IN SERVICE.—Section
203(b)(3) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1053(b)(3))
is amended by adding at the end the following
new subparagraph:
‘‘(F)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case
of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period
designated by the plan pursuant to subparagraph (A)—
‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more
hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours
of service per year, or
‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which
employment customarily constitutes 500 or more
hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours
of service per year,
completion of 250 hours of service within such period shall
be treated as completion of 500 hours of service.
‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent
to which employment in any type of position customarily
constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall
be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord-
ance with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe
providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe-
culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in
such plan.’’.
(3) ACCRUAL RULES.—Section 204(b)(4)(C) of
such Act (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(4)(C)) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(C)’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
clauses:
‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, in the case
of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period
designated by the plan pursuant to clause (i)—
‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more
hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours
of service per year, or
‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which
employment customarily constitutes 500 or more
hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours
of service per year,
completion of 500 hours of service within such period shall
be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service.
‘‘(iii) For purposes of clause (ii), the extent to which
employment in any type of position customarily constitutes
less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall be deter-
mined with respect to each pension plan in accordance
with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe pro-
viding for consideration of facts and circumstances pecu-
liar to the work-force constituting the participants in such
plan.’’.
(b) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES WORKING AT LESS
THAN FULL-TIME UNDER GROUP HEALTH PLANS.
(1) IN GENERAL.—Part 2 of subtitle B of title
I of such Act is amended—
(A) by redesignating section 211 (29
U.S.C. 1061) as section 212; and
(B) by inserting after section 210 (29
U.S.C. 1060) the following new section:
‘‘TREATMENT OF PART-TIME WORKERS UNDER GROUP
HEALTH PLANS
‘‘SEC. 211. (a) IN GENERAL.—A reduction in the em-
ployer-provided premium under a group health plan with
respect to any employee for any period of coverage solely
because the employee’s customary employment is less than
full-time may be provided under such plan only if the em-
ployee is described in subsection (b) and only to the extent
permitted under subsection (c).
‘‘(b) REDUCTIONS
APPLICABLE
TO
EMPLOYEES
WORKING LESS THAN FULL-TIME.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee is described in
this subsection if such employee, as of the beginning
of the period of coverage referred to in subsection
(a)—
‘‘(A) has customarily completed less than
30 hours of service per week, or
‘‘(B) is employed in a type of position in
which employment customarily constitutes less
than 30 hours of service per week.
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—For purposes of para-
graph (1), whether employment in any type of posi-
tion customarily constitutes less than 30 hours of
service per week shall be determined with respect to
each group health plan in accordance with such reg-
ulations as the Secretary shall prescribe providing
for consideration of facts and circumstances peculiar
to the work-force constituting the participants in
such plan.
‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PERMISSIBLE REDUCTION.—The
employer-provided premium under a group health plan
with respect to any employee for any period of coverage,
after the reduction permitted under subsection (a), shall
not be less than a ratable portion of the employer-provided
premium which would be provided under such plan for
such period of coverage with respect to an employee who
completes 30 hours of service per week.
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—The term ‘group
health plan’ has the meaning provided such term in
section 607(1).
‘‘(2) EMPLOYER-PROVIDED PREMIUM.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employer-
provided premium’ under a plan for any period
of coverage means the portion of the applicable
premium under the plan for such period of cov-
erage which is attributable under the plan to
employer contributions.
‘‘(B) APPLICABLE
PREMIUM.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (A), in determining the
applicable premium of a group health plan,
principles similar to the principles applicable
under section 604 shall apply.’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) Section 201(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C.
1051(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except with
respect to section 211’’ before the semicolon.
(B) The table of contents in section 1 of
such Act is amended by striking the item relat-
ing to section 211 and inserting the following
new items:
‘‘Sec. 211. Treatment of part-time workers under group health plans.
‘‘Sec. 212. Effective date.’’.
(c) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE TO
INCLUDE CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WHOSE SERVICES ARE
LEASED OR CONTRACTED FOR.—Paragraph (6) of section
3 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1002(6)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(6)’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(B) Such term includes, with respect to any em-
ployer, any person who is not an employee (within the
meaning of subparagraph (A)) of such employer and who
provides services to such employer, if—
‘‘(i) such person has (pursuant to an agreement
with such employer or any other person) performed
such services for such employer (or for such em-
ployer and related persons (within the meaning of
section 144(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986)) for a period of at least 1 year (6 months in
the case of core health benefits) at the rate of at
least 500 hours of service per year, and
‘‘(ii) such services are of a type historically per-
formed, in the business field of the employer, by em-
ployees (within the meaning of subparagraph (A)).’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATES.
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amendments made by this section
shall apply with respect to plan years beginning on
or after January 1, 1997.
(2) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
COLLECTIVELY
BAR-
GAINED PLANS.—In the case of a plan maintained
pursuant to 1 or more collective bargaining agree-
ments between employee representatives and 1 or
more employers ratified on or before the date of the
enactment of this Act, paragraph (1) shall be ap-
plied to benefits pursuant to, and individuals covered
by, any such agreement by substituting for ‘‘Janu-
ary 1, 1997’’ the date of the commencement of the
first plan year beginning on or after the earlier of—
(A) the later of—
(i) January 1, 1997, or
(ii) the date on which the last of such
collective bargaining agreements termi-
nates (determined without regard to any
extension thereof after the date of the en-
actment of this Act), or
(B) January 1, 1999.
(3) PLAN
AMENDMENTS.—If any amendment
made by this section requires an amendment to any
plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to
be made before the first plan year beginning on or
after January 1, 1998, if—
(A) during the period after such amend-
ment made by this section takes effect and be-
fore such first plan year, the plan is operated
in accordance with the requirements of such
amendment made by this section, and
(B) such plan amendment applies retro-
actively to the period after such amendment
made by this section takes effect and such first
plan year.
A plan shall not be treated as failing to provide defi-
nitely determinable benefits or contributions, or to
be operated in accordance with the provisions of the
plan, merely because it operates in accordance with
this paragraph.
SEC. 8. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.
(a) PART-TIME EMPLOYEES; INDEPENDENT CON-
TRACTORS.—Subsection (a) of section 3304 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to requirements for
approval of State unemployment compensation laws) is
amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (17),
by redesignating paragraph (18) as paragraph (20), and
by inserting after paragraph (17) the following new para-
graphs:
‘‘(18) in applying the State law provisions relat-
ing to availability for work, active search for work,
or refusal to accept work, to an individual seeking
part-time employment, the term ‘suitable work’ shall
not include any work where the individual would
normally perform services for more hours per week
than the number of hours per week for which the in-
dividual is available if the individual demonstrates
good cause for the individual’s limited availability
and such limitation does not substantially impair the
individual’s current attachment to the labor force;
‘‘(19) the determination of whether an individ-
ual is an employee of another person shall be made
in accordance with section 3306(i); and’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amendments made by this section
shall take effect on January 1, 1997.
(2) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of any State
the legislature of which has not been in session for
at least 30 calendar days (whether or not successive)
between the date of the enactment of this Act and
January 1, 1997, the amendments made by this sec-
tion shall take effect 30 calendar days after the 1st
day on which such legislature is in session on or
after January 1, 1998.
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