I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2298
To provide certain temporary employees with the same benefits as permanent
employees.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 22, 1999
Mr. EVANS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To provide certain temporary employees with the same
benefits as permanent 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 ‘‘Equity for Temporary
Workers Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. TEMPORARY WORKER RIGHTS.
(a) DISCRIMINATION.— No employer shall discrimi-
nate with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of employment against any temporary em-
ployee.
(b) BENEFITS.—After a temporary employee works
for an employer for 1,000 hours during a 12-month pe-
riod, whether placed in the employ of such employer by
the employer, by a temporary help agency or staffing firm,
or under a leasing arrangement by a third party, such
temporary employee shall be eligible to receive any benefit
offered by the employer to other permanent employees.
SEC. 3. EQUAL PAY FOR TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—An employer having employees
subject to section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938 shall not discriminate, within any establishment in
which such employees are employed, between employees on
the basis of employment status by paying wages to tem-
porary employees in such establishment at a rate less than
the rate at which the employer pays wages to full-time
employees in such establishment for equal work on jobs
the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and
responsibility, and which are performed under similar
working conditions, except where such payment is made
pursuant to—
(1) a seniority system;
(2) a merit system;
(3) a system that measures earning by quantity
or quality of production; or
(4) a differential based on any other factor
other than employment status.
(b) WAGE REDUCTION.—An employer who is paying
a wage rate differential in violation of this section shall
not, in order to comply with the provisions of this section,
reduce the wage rate of any employee.
(c) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—No labor organization,
or its agents, representing the employees of an employer
having employees subject to section 6 of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 shall cause or attempt to cause
such an employer to discriminate against an employee in
violation of this section.
(d) UNPAID WAGES.—For purposes of administra-
tion and enforcement, any amounts owing to any employee
that have been withheld in violation of this section shall
be deemed to be unpaid minimum wages or unpaid over-
time compensation under section 5.
(e) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘‘labor organization’’ means any organization of any kind,
or any agency or employee representation committee or
plan, in which employers 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. 4. LIABILITY TO ALL PERSONS ON WORKSITE.
Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)) is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘(1) shall, at the place of employment of the
employer, furnish to each person at such place a
place which is free from recognized hazards that are
causing or are likely to cause death or serious phys-
ical harm to such persons; and’’.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEES.—
(1) LIABILITY.—Any employer who violates sec-
tion 2 or 3 shall be liable to any eligible employee
affected—
(A) for damages equal to—
(i) the amount of any wages, salary,
employment benefits, or other compensa-
tion denied or lost to such employee by
reason of the violation;
(ii) the interest on the amount de-
scribed in clause (i) calculated at the pre-
vailing rate; and
(iii) an additional amount as liq-
uidated damages equal to the sum of the
amount described in clause (i) and the in-
terest described in clause (ii), except that
if an employer who has violated section 2
or 3 proves to the satisfaction of the court
that the act or omission which violated
such section was in good faith and that the
employer had reasonable grounds for be-
lieving that the act or omission was not a
violation of such section, such court may,
in the discretion of the court, reduce the
amount of the liability to the amount and
interest determined under clauses (i) and
(ii), respectively; and
(B) for such equitable relief as may be ap-
propriate, including employment, reinstatement,
and promotion.
(2) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to recover
the damages or equitable relief prescribed in para-
graph (1) may be maintained against any employer
(including a public agency) in any Federal or State
court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more
employees for and in behalf of—
(A) the employees; or
(B) the employees and other employees
similarly situated.
(3) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in such an
action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to
the plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, rea-
sonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the
action to be paid by the defendant.
(4) LIMITATIONS.—The right provided by para-
graph (2) to bring an action by or on behalf of any
employee shall terminate—
(A) on the filing of a complaint by the Sec-
retary in an action under subsection (d) in
which restraint is sought of any further delay
in the payment of the amount described in
paragraph (1)(A) to such employee by an em-
ployer responsible under paragraph (1) for the
payment; or
(B) on the filing of a complaint by the Sec-
retary in an action under subsection (b) in
which a recovery is sought of the damages de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(A) owing to an eligible
employee by an employer liable under para-
graph (1),
unless the action described in subparagraph (A) or
(B) is dismissed without prejudice on motion of the
Secretary.
(b) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—
(1) ADMINISTRATIVE
ACTION.—The Secretary
shall receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve
3, such action may be brought within 3 years of the
date of the last event constituting the alleged viola-
tion for which such action is brought.
(3) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining when an
action is commenced by the Secretary under this
section for the purposes of this subsection, it shall
be considered to be commenced on the date when the
complaint is filed.
(d) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY.—The
district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction,
for cause shown, in an action brought by the Secretary—
(1) to restrain violations of section 2 or 3, in-
cluding the restraint of any withholding of payment
of wages, salary, employment benefits, or other com-
pensation, plus interest, found by the court to be
due to eligible employees; or
(2) to award such other equitable relief as may
be appropriate, including employment, reinstate-
ment, and promotion.
(e) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—The Solicitor of Labor
may appear for and represent the Secretary on any litiga-
tion brought under this section.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means
any individual who performs services for wages, sal-
ary, or other reimbursement under any contract of
hire, written or oral, express or implied with an em-
ployer. This individual also works for an employer at
least 1,000 hours per year.
(2) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means
any person engaged in commerce or in any industry
or activity affecting commerce who employs 100 or
more employees for each working day during each of
20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or
preceding calendar year.
(3) PERMANENT EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘per-
manent employee’’ means any individual who is
hired for an indefinite period of time as an employee
and is accorded benefits.
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Labor.
(5) TEMPORARY
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘tem-
porary agency’’ means any person regularly under-
taking with or without compensation to procure em-
ployees for an employer temporarily or to procure
for employees opportunities to work for an employer
and includes an agent of such a person.
(6) TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘tem-
porary employee’’ means any employee who is not
permanent.
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