Federal

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require paid rest breaks for certain construction employees, and for other purposes.

Source: Congress.gov · 857 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires construction employers to give workers paid rest breaks. The bill also says employers cannot punish workers for taking these breaks or reporting violations.

Who It Affects

Construction employees, construction contractors, construction employers, and the Secretary of Labor.

Key Provisions

• Employers must provide at least one 15-minute paid rest break for every four hours of work to each construction employee (Sec. 8(a)(1)(A)) • Employers must give employees written notice in their primary language at the time of hiring explaining their right to paid rest breaks, that retaliation is prohibited, and that they can file complaints (Sec. 8(a)(1)(B)) • Employers must display a sign in English and Spanish at their workplace and construction work site explaining the rest break rules (Sec. 8(a)(2)) • Employers cannot take punishing personnel action (like firing or demotion) against workers who request or take rest breaks or file complaints (Sec. 8(c)) • If employers do not fix violations within 30 days of receiving notice from the Secretary, the Secretary can assess penalties, and workers can seek lost wages plus an equal amount as additional damages (Sec. 16(b))

What Changes

Construction workers gain a legal right to paid rest breaks. Construction employers must notify workers of this right and post notices about it. Employers face penalties if they violate these requirements or punish workers for using their rights.

Important Definitions

• Construction employee: An individual employed or hired as a contractor to perform general construction services • General construction services: Building, preparing to build, remodeling, extending, repairing, demolishing a structure or improving real property • Rest break: A break from work during work hours that is not a regular meal break

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 785 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require paid rest breaks for certain construction employees, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Ms. GARCIA of Texas (for herself, Ms. PORTER, Ms. CHU, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. NORTON, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. TLAIB, and Mr. CASAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require paid rest breaks for certain construction employees, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. PAID REST BREAKS FOR CERTAIN CONSTRUC- 3 TION EMPLOYEES. 4 (a) PAID REST BREAK.—The Fair Labor Standards 5 Act (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 6 section 7 the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Feb 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H785.IH H785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 785 IH ‘‘SEC. 8. PAID REST BREAKS FOR CONSTRUCTION EMPLOY- 1 EES. 2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS.—An employer shall— 3 ‘‘(1) with respect to each construction employee 4 of such employer— 5 ‘‘(A) provide at least one 15-minute paid 6 rest break for every four hours of work to each 7 such employee; and 8 ‘‘(B) at the time of hiring, provide notice 9 in the primary language of such employee, an 10 explanation that— 11 ‘‘(i) such employee is entitled to the 12 paid rest breaks described in subparagraph 13 (A); 14 ‘‘(ii) retaliation by such employer 15 against such employee for requesting or 16 taking such paid rest breaks is prohibited; 17 and 18 ‘‘(iii) such employee has a right to file 19 a complaint with the Secretary for any vio- 20 lation of this section by such employer; and 21 ‘‘(2) display a sign, in a conspicuous and acces- 22 sible location, at the place of business of such em- 23 ployer and at the applicable construction work site 24 that includes, in both English and Spanish, the in- 25 formation described in paragraph (1)(B). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Feb 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H785.IH H785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 785 IH ‘‘(b) POSTED NOTICE.—The Secretary shall issue 1 regulations with respect to the design and content of the 2 sign referred to in subsection (a)(2). 3 ‘‘(c) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—An employer may 4 not take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise discrimi- 5 nate against a construction employee if such employee— 6 ‘‘(1) requests or takes paid rest breaks in ac- 7 cordance with this section; or 8 ‘‘(2) files a complaint with the Secretary alleg- 9 ing a violation of this section. 10 ‘‘(d) INTERACTION WITH OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 11 this section shall be construed to excuse noncompliance 12 with any Federal or State law, municipal ordinance, or 13 collective bargaining agreement requiring longer rest 14 breaks than those required under this section. 15 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 16 ‘‘(1) The term ‘construction employee’ means 17 an individual who is employed by an employer, or is 18 hired as a contractor of such an employer, to per- 19 form general construction services. 20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘general construction services’ 21 means the— 22 ‘‘(A) erection of or preparation to erect a 23 structure; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Feb 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H785.IH H785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 785 IH ‘‘(B) remodeling, extension, repair, or dem- 1 olition of a structure or other improvement of 2 real property or a structure related to real 3 property. 4 ‘‘(3) The term ‘rest break’ means a break from 5 work during work hours, but does not include a reg- 6 ular meal break period provided to a construction 7 employee by an employer.’’. 8 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor 9 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(b)) is amended by 10 adding after the third sentence the following: ‘‘If the Sec- 11 retary makes a determination that an employer has vio- 12 lated section 8(a) of this Act, the Secretary may assess 13 an administrative penalty to such employer if such em- 14 ployer fails to correct the violation not later than 30 days 15 after the date on which such employer receives notice from 16 the Secretary of such determination. Any employer that 17 violates the provisions of section 8(c) of this Act shall be 18 liable for such legal or equitable relief as may be appro- 19 priate, including without limitation employment, reinstate- 20 ment, promotion, and the payment of wages lost and an 21 additional equal amount as liquidated damages.’’. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Feb 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H785.IH H785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

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