IB
Union Calendar No. 343
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2391
[Report No. 104–670]
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide compensatory
time for all employees.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 21, 1995
Mr. BALLENGER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities
JULY 11, 1996
Additional sponsors: Mr. GOODLING, Mr. FAWELL, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr.
NORWOOD, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. BURR, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. HERGER,
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr.
CUNNINGHAM, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. SOUDER,
Mr. PETRI, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. INGLIS
of South Carolina, Mr. KIM, Ms. PRYCE, Mr. SOLOMON, Mr. SHADEGG,
Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. SHAYS, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas,
Mr. CALVERT, Mr. FIELDS of Texas, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. MILLER of
Florida, Mr. FUNDERBURK, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Ms. GREENE of
Utah, Mr. COBURN, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mrs. FOWLER, Ms.
DUNN of Washington, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. PAXON, Mr. DORNAN, Mr.
HORN, Mr. SALMON, Mr. MANZULLO, and Mr. EHLERS
JULY 11, 1996
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 21, 1995]
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide
compensatory time for all employees.
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 Flexi-
bility Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. COMPENSATORY TIME.
Subsection (o) of section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraphs (1) through (5) and
inserting the following:
‘‘(1) An employee may receive, in accordance with this
subsection and in lieu of monetary overtime compensation,
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.
‘‘(2) An employer may provide compensatory time
under paragraph (1) only—
‘‘(A) pursuant to—
‘‘(i) applicable provisions of a collective
bargaining agreement, memorandum of under-
standing, or any other agreement between the
employer and representatives of such employees,
or
‘‘(ii) in the case of employees who are not
represented by a collective bargaining agent or
other representative designated by the employee,
an agreement or understanding arrived at be-
tween the employer and employee before the per-
formance of the work if such agreement or under-
standing was entered into knowingly and volun-
tarily by such employee;
‘‘(B) in the case of an employee who is not an
employee of a public agency, if such employee has af-
firmed, in a written or otherwise verifiable statement
that is made, kept, and preserved in accordance with
section 11(c), that the employee has chosen to receive
compensatory time in lieu of overtime compensation;
and
‘‘(C) if the employee has not accrued compen-
satory time in excess of the limit applicable to the
employee prescribed by paragraph (5).
In the case of employees described in subparagraph (A)(ii)
who are employees of a public agency and who were hired
before April 15, 1986, the regular practice in effect on such
date with respect to compensatory time off for such employ-
ees in lieu of the receipt of overtime compensation, shall
constitute an agreement or understanding described in such
subparagraph. Except as provided in the preceding sen-
tence, the provision of compensatory time off to employees
of a public agency for hours worked after April 14, 1986,
shall be in accordance with this subsection. An employer
may provide compensatory time under paragraph (1) to an
employee who is not an employee of a public agency only
if such agreement or understanding was not a condition
of employment.
‘‘(3) An employer which is not a public agency and
which provides compensatory time under paragraph (1) to
employees shall not directly or indirectly 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 com-
pensatory time off in lieu of payment of overtime
compensation for overtime hours; or
‘‘(B) requiring any employee to use such com-
pensatory time.
‘‘(4)(A) An employee, who is not an employee of a pub-
lic agency, may accrue not more than 240 hours of compen-
satory time.
‘‘(B)(i) Not later than January 31 of each calendar
year, the employee’s employer shall provide monetary com-
pensation for any compensatory time off accrued during the
preceding calendar year which was not used prior to De-
cember 31 of the preceding year at the rate prescribed by
paragraph (6). An employer may designate and commu-
nicate 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.
‘‘(ii) The employer may provide monetary compensa-
tion for an employee’s unused compensatory time at any
time. Such compensation shall be provided at the rate pre-
scribed by paragraph (6).
‘‘(C) An employee may also request in writing that
monetary compensation be provided, at any time, for all
compensatory time accrued which has not yet been used.
Within 30 days of receiving the written request, the em-
ployer shall provide the employee the monetary compensa-
tion due in accordance with paragraph (6).
‘‘(5)(A) If the work of an employee of a public agency
for which compensatory time may be provided included
work in a public safety activity, an emergency response ac-
tivity, or a seasonal activity, the employee engaged in such
work may accrue not more than 480 hours of compensatory
time for hours worked after April 15, 1986. If such work
was any other work, the employee engaged in such work
may accrue not more than 240 hours of compensatory time
for hours worked after April 15, 1986. Any such employee
who, after April 15, 1986, has accrued 480 or 240 hours,
as the case may be, of compensatory time off shall, for addi-
tional overtime hours of work, be paid overtime compensa-
tion.
‘‘(B) If compensation is paid to an employee described
in subparagraph (A) for accrued compensatory time off,
such compensation shall be paid at the regular rate earned
by the employee at the time the employee receives such pay-
ment.
‘‘(6)(A) An employee of an employer which is not a
public agency 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 at a rate of com-
pensation not less than—
‘‘(i) the average regular rate received by such
employee during the period during which the compen-
satory time was accrued, or
‘‘(ii) the final regular rate received by such em-
ployee,
whichever is higher.
‘‘(B) An employee of an employer which is a public
agency who has accrued compensatory time off authorized
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 sub-
section (f), any employer’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(f) An employer which is not a public agency and
which willfully violates section 7(o)(3) shall be liable to the
employee affected in the amount of the rate of compensation
(determined in accordance with section 7(o)(6)(A)) for each
hour of compensatory time accrued by the employee and
in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages re-
duced by the amount of such rate of compensation for each
hour of compensatory time used by such employee.’’.