No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8911 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8911
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers to
allow employees to take meal, rest, restroom, and medical breaks, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 28, 2024
Mrs. Watson Coleman (for herself, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-
Cortez, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Grijalva, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Deluzio, Ms. Wild, Mr.
Thanedar, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Omar, Ms.
Williams of Georgia, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Bowman, Ms.
Brown, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Adams, Mr. Lynch,
Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Ross, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Ivey,
Ms. Bush, Ms. Tokuda, and Ms. Stevens) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers to
allow employees to take meal, rest, restroom, and medical breaks, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Worker Rights and Support Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRED BREAKS FOR EMPLOYEES.
(a) In General.--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 7 (29 U.S.C. 207)
the following:
``SEC. 8. REQUIRED BREAKS FOR EMPLOYEES.
``(a) Meal Breaks.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3)(A)
and subsection (e), an employer shall provide, for each 6-hour
period of work performed by an employee, a period of break time
of not less than 30 minutes during such period of work in which
the employee may consume a meal.
``(2) Payment.----
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), an employer shall not be required to
compensate an employee for a break required under
paragraph (1).
``(B) Paid breaks.--In the case in which an
employee is not fully relieved of all work or
expectation of work, or is not free to leave the
premises or work site during a break provided under
paragraph (1), the employer shall compensate the
employee for the full period of break time under
paragraph (1), at a rate that is not less than one and
one-half times the regular rate at which the employee
is employed by the employer.
``(3) Waiver.--
``(A) In general.--The period of break time under
paragraph (1) may be waived by consent of the employee.
``(B) Waiver may not be compelled.--An employer may
not compel, or attempt to compel, an employee to waive
the period of break time provided under paragraph (1).
``(b) Rest and Restroom Breaks.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (e), an
employer shall provide, during each 4-hour period of work
performed by an employee, a period of break time that is the
longer of--
``(A) 10 minutes; or
``(B) a reasonable period of time to utilize the
nearest functioning and accessible restroom.
``(2) Rate of compensation.--An employer shall compensate
an employee for the break time described in paragraph (1) at
the regular rate at which the employee is employed by the
employer.
``(c) Medical Breaks.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (e), an
employer shall provide to an employee periods of break time,
not to exceed 20 minutes each, that the employee may reasonably
require due to a medical condition communicated to the employer
by the health care provider either directly from such provider
or indirectly from the employee.
``(2) Rate of compensation.--An employer shall compensate
an employee for the break time described in paragraph (1) at
the regular rate at which the employee is employed by the
employer.
``(d) Time Worked.--Break time paid under this section shall be
considered as time worked.
``(e) Collective Bargaining Agreements; State Laws.--The
requirements under this section shall not--
``(1) supersede any provision in a collective bargaining
agreement; or
``(2) preempt any State law that provides greater
protections to employees than the protections provided to
employees under this section.''.
(b) Enforcement.--
(1) Prohibited act.--Section 15(a) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or section 7''
and inserting ``, section 7, or section 8'';
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) to violate any of the provisions of section 8.''.
(2) Penalties.--Section 16 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216) is
amended--
(A) in subsection (b), by inserting after the third
sentence the following: ``Any employer who violates the
provisions of section 8 shall be liable for such legal
or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate
the purposes of such section.'';
(B) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the
following: ``The authority and requirements described
in this subsection shall also apply with respect to a
violation of section 8, as appropriate, and the
employer shall be liable for such legal or equitable
relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes
of such section.''; and
(C) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ``section 6
or 7, relating to wages,'' and inserting ``section 6,
7, or 8, relating to wages or break time,''.
(3) Statute of limitations.--Section 6 of the Portal-to-
Portal Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. 255) is amended, in the matter
preceding subsection (a), by inserting ``(and any cause of
action to enforce section 8 of such Act)'' after ``under the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 10 of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 210) is repealed.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
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