Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Worker Rights and Support Act”.
Worker Rights and Support Act
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.
Sec. 2 Required breaks for employees
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:
“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.”
Enforcement—
Prohibited act— Section 15(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (1), by striking “or section 7” and inserting “, section 7, or section 8”;
in paragraph (6), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(7) to violate any of the provisions of section 8.”
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.”;
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
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,”.
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”.
Conforming amendment— Section 10 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 210) is repealed.