What This Bill Does
This bill changes how work hours are calculated under federal labor law. It allows employers to exclude certain educational activities and personal care time from the hours employees work, as long as specific conditions are met.
Who It Affects
Employees whose work hours are tracked under federal labor standards laws and their employers.
Key Provisions
• Employers may exclude time employees spend changing clothes or washing at the start or end of workdays if a union agreement already excluded this time from work hours (Sec. 2(a)(1))
• Employers may exclude time employees spend attending lectures, education, training programs and similar activities from hours worked if the activity happens outside regular work hours, is voluntary, and the employee does no productive work during attendance (Sec. 2(a)(2)(A), (B), (C))
• Employees cannot lose their job or face worsened working conditions because they choose not to attend or participate in these educational activities (Sec. 2(a)(2)(B))
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, employers will be allowed to not count certain educational activities toward an employee's total work hours, provided those activities are voluntary and happen outside regular work hours.
Important Definitions
The bill does not explicitly define any terms.
Effective Date
The changes apply to hours worked on or after the date this law is signed (Sec. 2(b))
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1084
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exclude certain activities
from hours worked, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 17, 2023
Mrs. HINSON 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 exclude
certain activities from hours worked, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flexibility for Workers
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Education Act’’.
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SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF ATTENDANCE OR PARTICIPATION
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IN CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(o) of the Fair Labor
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Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(o)) is amended to
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read as follows:
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•HR 1084 IH
‘‘(o) HOURS WORKED.—In determining for the pur-
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poses of sections 6 and 7 the hours for which an employee
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is employed, there shall be excluded—
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‘‘(1) any time spent in changing clothes or
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washing at the beginning or end of each workday
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which was excluded from measured working time
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during the week involved by the express terms of or
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by custom or practice under a bona fide collective-
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bargaining agreement applicable to the particular
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employee; and
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‘‘(2) any time spent attending or participating
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in lectures, education or training programs, and
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similar activities, regardless of whether the activity
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is offered or facilitated by the employer, provided
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that—
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‘‘(A) such attendance or participation oc-
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curs outside of the employee’s regular working
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hours;
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‘‘(B) such attendance or participation is
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voluntary and the continuation of employment
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and the working conditions related to such em-
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ployment is not adversely affected by non-at-
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tendance or non-participation; and
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•HR 1084 IH
‘‘(C) the employee does not perform any
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productive work for the employer during such
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attendance or participation.’’.
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(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
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subsection (a) shall apply with respect to hours worked
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on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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Æ
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