,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #afbc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #cj1 #bjac,mr4 ,lee 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,cruz1 ,mr4 ,paul1 ,mr4 ,roberts1 ,mr4 ,hatch1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,wisconsin1 and ,mr4 ,coburn7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich to provide compensatory time for employees in the private sector4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,working ,families ,flexibility ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,compensatory time ,section #g of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bjg7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7s7 ,compensatory ,time ,off for ,private ,employees 7#a7 ,general rule ,an employee may receive1 in accordance with this subsection and in lieu of monetary overtime compensation1 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 section4 7#b7 ,conditions ,an employer may provide compensatory time to employees under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 only if such time is provided in accordance with-- 7,a7 applicable provisions of a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and the labor organization that has been certified or recognized as the representative of the employees under applicable law2 or 7,b7 in the case of employees who are not represented by a labor organization that has been certified or recognized as the representative of such employees under applicable law1 an agreement arrived at between the employer and employee before the performance of the work and affirmed by a written or otherwise verifiable record maintained in accordance with section #aa7;c7-- 7i7 in which the employer has offered and the employee has chosen to receive compensatory time in lieu of monetary overtime compensation2 and 7ii7 entered into knowingly and voluntarily by such employees and not as a condition of employment4 ,no employee may receive or agree to receive compensatory time off under this subsection unless the employee has worked at least #a1jjj hours for the employee's employer during a period of continuous employment with the employer in the #ab-month period before the date of agreement or receipt of compensatory time off4 7#c7 ,hour limit 7,a7 ,maximum hours ,an employee may accrue not more than #afj hours of compensatory time4 7,b7 ,compensation date ,not later than ,january #ca of each calendar year1 the employee's employer shall provide monetary compensation for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding calendar year that was not used prior to ,december #ca of the preceding year at the rate prescribed by paragraph 7#f74 ,an employer may designate and communicate to the employer's employees a #ab-month period other than the calendar year1 in which case such compensation shall be provided not later than #ca days after the end of such #ab-month period4 7,c7 ,excess of #hj hours ,the employer may provide monetary compensation for an employee's unused compensatory time in excess of #hj hours at any time after giving the employee at least #cj days notice4 ,such compensation shall be provided at the rate prescribed by paragraph 7#f74 7,d7 ,policy ,except where a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise1 an employer that has adopted a policy offering compensatory time to employees may discontinue such policy upon giving employees #cj days notice4 7,e7 ,written request ,an employee may withdraw an agreement described in paragraph 7#b77;,b7 at any time4 ,an employee may also request in writing that monetary compensation be provided1 at any time1 for all compensatory time accrued that has not yet been used4 ,within #cj days of receiving the written request1 the employer shall provide the employee the monetary compensation due in accordance with paragraph 7#f74 7#d7 ,private employer actions ,an employer that provides compensatory time under paragraph 7#a7 to employees shall not directly or indirectly intimidate1 threaten1 or coerce or attempt to intimidate1 threaten1 or coerce any employee for the purpose of-- 7,a7 interfering with such employee's rights under this subsection to request or not request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation for overtime hours2 or 7,b7 requiring any employee to use such compensatory time4 7#e7 ,termination of employment ,an employee who has accrued compensatory time off authorized to be provided under paragraph 7#a7 shall1 upon the voluntary or involuntary termination of employment1 be paid for the unused compensatory time in accordance with paragraph 7#f74 7#f7 ,rate of compensation 7,a7 ,general rule ,if compensation is to be paid to an employee for accrued compensatory time off1 such compensation shall be paid at a rate of compensation not less than-- 7i7 the regular rate received by such employee when the compensatory time was earned2 or 7ii7 the final regular rate received by such employee1 whichever is higher4 7,b7 ,consideration of payment ,any payment owed to an employee under this subsection for unused compensatory time shall be considered unpaid overtime compensation4 7#g7 ,use of time ,an employee-- 7,a7 who has accrued compensatory time off authorized to be provided under paragraph 7#a72 and 7,b7 who has requested the use of such compensatory time1 shall be permitted by the employee's employer to use such time within a reasonable period after making the request if the use of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer4 7#h7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this subsection-- 7,a7 the term employee does not include an employee of a public agency2 and 7,b7 the terms overtime compensation and compensatory time shall have the meanings given such terms by subsection 7o77#g74 4 #c4 ,remedies ,section #af of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #baf7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7b71 by striking 7b7 ,any employer and inserting 7b7 ,except as provided in subsection 7f71 any employer2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7f7 ,an employer that violates section #g7s77#d7 shall be liable to the employee affected in the amount of the rate of compensation 7determined in accordance with section #g7s77#f77;,a77 for each hour of compensatory time accrued by the employee and in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages reduced by the amount of such rate of compensation for each hour of compensatory time used by such employee4 4 #d4 ,notice to employees ,not later than #cj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,labor shall revise the materials the ,secretary provides1 under regulations published in section #eaf4d of title #bi1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 to employers for purposes of a notice explaining the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich to employees so that such notice reflects the amendments made to such ,act by this ,act4 #e4 ,,gao report ,beginning #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act and each of the #c years thereafter1 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit a report to ,congress providing1 with respect to the reporting period immediately prior to each such report-- 7#a7 data concerning the extent to which employers provide compensatory time pursuant to section #g7s7 of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich1 as added by this ,act1 and the extent to which employees opt to receive compensatory time2 7#b7 the number of complaints alleging a violation of such section filed by any employee with the ,secretary of ,labor2 7#c7 the number of enforcement actions commenced by the ,secretary or commenced by the ,secretary on behalf of any employee for alleged violations of such section2 7#d7 the disposition or status of such complaints and actions described in paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c72 and 7#e7 an account of any unpaid wages1 damages1 penalties1 injunctive relief1 or other remedies obtained or sought by the ,secretary in connection with such actions described in paragraph 7#c74 #f4 ,sunset ,this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act shall expire #e years after the date of enactment of this ,act4