H.R. 6818 — Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act

This section revises the eligibility definition for covered employees (i.e., legislative branch employees subject to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995) to receive Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) protections by reducing the required employment duration to at least 90 days (from 12 months and at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months). The amendments take effect one year after enactment.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in this title, including "(1) 'employ,' as defined in section 3(g) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA, 29 U.S.C. 203(g)); (2) 'employee,' which—except as provided in section 205(e)—means an FLSA employee (29 U.S.C. 203(e)) of a person in commerce who is not otherwise covered, a state employee under section 304(a) of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)), a covered employee under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA, 2 U.S.C. 1301) except applicants for employment (i.e., employees of the House of Representatives, Senate, Capitol Police, Congressional Budget Office, Architect of the Capitol, and related entities), a covered employee under 3 U.S.C. 411(c) (i.e., Executive Residence staff), a federal officer or employee under FMLA subchapter V of 5 U.S.C. ch. 63 (without regard to 5 U.S.C. 6381(1)(B)) who is not otherwise covered, or a Government Accountability Office (GAO) employee; (3) 'employer,' defined correspondingly and including any person in commerce employing more than 15 FLSA employees (calculated based on the prior calendar year's average or as part of an integrated enterprise), or the relevant employing office or agency for other employee categories; (4) 'person,' as defined in FLSA section 3(a) (29 U.S.C. 203(a)) except as used with 'person in commerce'; (5) 'person in commerce,' meaning any person engaged in commerce or an activity affecting commerce (including government); and (6) 'Secretary,' meaning the Secretary of Labor."

This section prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee scheduled to work fewer hours per week or for a shorter expected duration than another employee if their jobs require substantially equal skill, effort, responsibility, and duties under similar working conditions. Discrimination includes differential treatment in (1) rate of compensation; (2) notice of, and input into, work hours; (3) pro rata accrual of employer-provided paid or unpaid time off and other benefits; (4) promotion opportunities; or (5) other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. It permits distinctions in compensation or other employment terms based on factors other than scheduled hours or expected duration, such as (1) hire date; (2) merit systems; or (3) quantity- or quality-based pay systems.

This section establishes requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 for employers to prioritize scheduling existing employees for their desired weekly work hours—identified in written statements obtained upon hiring and modifiable at any time—before hiring new employees from external pools (including via temporary agencies) or engaging contractors or subcontractors. The section specifies exceptions permitting external hiring if (1) no existing employees are available per their statements for those hours, (2) existing employees lack necessary qualifications (even with reasonable training), or (3) scheduling existing employees would require overtime pay at not less than 1.5 times their regular rate under FLSA section 7 (29 U.S.C. 207) or state law. (As background, FLSA section 7 generally requires such overtime compensation for non-exempt employees working more than 40 hours in a workweek.) The section further requires employers to compensate existing employees for each hour worked by subsequent new hires, contractors, or subcontractors during the existing employees' stated available hours, with exceptions for lack of qualifications, overtime requirements, failed reasonable contact attempts, or employee unavailability. It defines "written" to include physical or electronic forms.

This section prohibits employers from interfering with, restraining, or denying employee rights under this title; retaliating against employees (e.g., through discharge, demotion, suspension, reduced hours, or other adverse actions) for exercising those rights or opposing unlawful practices; and makes it unlawful for any person to discriminate against individuals who file charges, provide information, or testify in proceedings or inquiries related to rights under this title.

This section establishes investigative authority, recordkeeping requirements, civil penalties, administrative enforcement by the Secretary of Labor, and a private right of action modeled on the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) for employer violations of sections 202, 203, or 204 (referred to as covered provisions). Specifically, it (1) grants the Secretary FLSA-like investigative powers (including subpoenas), requires employers to maintain compliance records for at least three years (or longer during any claim) and provide employee copies upon request, and limits routine record submissions to once per 12 months absent reasonable cause; (2) authorizes affected employees to sue individually or collectively in federal or state court for damages equal to lost wages, salary, employment benefits (as defined in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993), or other compensation (or actual monetary losses if none denied), plus interest, liquidated damages equal to such amount plus interest (waivable for good faith violations), equitable relief, attorney fees, and costs; and (3) directs the Secretary to handle complaints via FLSA-like procedures with administrative law judge review and imposes civil penalties on employers for willful and repeated violations of $500-$1,000 per violation of section 204(a) or $1,100-$5,000 per violation of section 204(b) or (c) (subject to inflation adjustment).

This section requires the Secretary of Labor, Board of Directors of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, President, Office of Personnel Management, and Comptroller General to issue regulations implementing this title (i.e., Family and Medical Leave Act protections in specified workplaces) not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, as follows: (1) the Secretary for most covered employees; (2) the Board for employees described in section 201(2)(C) (i.e., congressional employing offices), using the existing regulatory procedures in section 304 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1384); (3) the President for employees described in section 201(2)(D); (4) the Office for employees described in section 201(2)(E); and (5) the Comptroller General for Government Accountability Office employees. All such regulations must mirror the Secretary's substantive regulations, except to the extent an entity determines for good cause—stated with the regulations—that modifications are more effective, and must consider relevant Family and Medical Leave Act enforcement and remedies provisions applicable to each entity.