[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3547 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3547
To extend protections to part-time workers in the areas of family and
medical leave and to ensure equitable treatment in the workplace.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 17, 2025
Ms. Warren (for herself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Markey, Mr. Padilla, Mr.
Whitehouse, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Murray, and Ms. Baldwin) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To extend protections to part-time workers in the areas of family and
medical leave and to ensure equitable treatment in the workplace.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights
Act''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I--EXPANDING ACCESS TO BENEFITS FOR PART-TIME WORKERS
Sec. 101. Elimination of hours of service requirement for FMLA leave.
TITLE II--ENSURING FAIR TREATMENT FOR PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY WORKERS
Sec. 201. Definitions.
Sec. 202. Elimination of discrimination on the basis of hours worked.
Sec. 203. Offer of work to existing employees.
Sec. 204. Prohibited acts.
Sec. 205. Remedies and enforcement.
Sec. 206. Regulations.
TITLE I--EXPANDING ACCESS TO BENEFITS FOR PART-TIME WORKERS
SEC. 101. ELIMINATION OF HOURS OF SERVICE REQUIREMENT FOR FMLA LEAVE.
(a) Amendment.--Section 101(2)(A) of the Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(2)(A)) is amended to read as follows:
``(A) In general.--The term `eligible employee'
means an employee who has been employed for at least 90
days by the employer with respect to whom leave is
requested under section 102.''.
(b) Amendments to Related Statutes.--
(1) Congressional accountability act of 1995.--Section
202(a)(2)(B) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2
U.S.C. 1312(a)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ``12 months and
for at least 1,250 hours of employment during the previous 12
months'' and inserting ``at least 90 days''.
(2) Title 3, united states code.--Section 412(a)(2)(B) of
title 3, United States Code, is amended by striking ``12 months
and for at least 1,250 hours of employment during the previous
12 months'' and inserting ``at least 90 days''.
(3) Title 5, united states code.--Chapter 63 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--
(A) in section 6381(1)(B), by striking ``at least
12 months of service'' and inserting ``at least 90 days
of service''; and
(B) in section 6382(d)(2)(E), by striking ``at
least 12 months of service'' and inserting ``at least
90 days of service''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 101(2) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of
1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(2)) is amended--
(A) by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D); and
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as
subparagraph (C).
(2) Section 102(a) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)) is
amended by striking paragraph (5).
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a), (b),
and (c) shall take effect beginning on the date that is 1 year after
the date of enactment of this Act.
TITLE II--ENSURING FAIR TREATMENT FOR PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY WORKERS
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Employ.--The term ``employ'' has the meaning given the
term in section 3(g) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
(29 U.S.C. 203(g)).
(2) Employee.--Except as provided in section 205(e), the
term ``employee'' means an individual who is--
(A) an employee, as defined in section 3(e) of the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)),
who is not covered under any of subparagraphs (B)
through (F), except that a reference in such section to
an employer shall be considered to be a reference to a
person in commerce described in paragraph (3)(A);
(B) a State employee described in section 304(a) of
the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C.
2000e-16c(a));
(C) a covered employee, as defined in section 101
of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2
U.S.C. 1301), except that such term shall not include
an applicant for employment;
(D) a covered employee, as defined in section
411(c) of title 3, United States Code;
(E) a Federal officer or employee covered under
subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, United States
Code (without regard to the limitation in section
6381(1)(B) of that title), who is not covered under
subparagraph (D); or
(F) an employee of the Government Accountability
Office.
(3) Employer.--Except as provided in section 205(e), the
term ``employer''--
(A)(i) means any person in commerce that is not
otherwise described in any other subparagraph of this
paragraph and--
(I) employs more than 15 employees
described in paragraph (2)(A), which shall be
calculated by including all employees described
in paragraph (2)(A) performing work for
compensation on a full-time, part-time, or
temporary basis, except that if the number of
such employees who perform work for such a
person for compensation fluctuates, the number
may be determined for a calendar year based
upon the average number of such employees who
performed work for the person for compensation
during the preceding calendar year; or
(II) is part of an integrated enterprise,
chain of businesses, group of franchises
associated with a franchisor, or network of
franchises that, in the aggregate, employs more
than 15 such employees, calculated in
accordance with subclause (I);
(ii) includes--
(I) any person who acts, directly or
indirectly, in the interest of such an employer
to any of the employees (described in clause
(i)) of such employer; and
(II) any successor in interest of such an
employer; and
(iii) includes an agency described in subparagraph
(A)(iii) of section 101(4) of the Family and Medical
Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(4));
(B) is an entity employing a State employee
described in section 304(a) of the Government Employee
Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16c(a));
(C) is an employing office, as defined in section
101 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2
U.S.C. 1301);
(D) is an employing office, as defined in section
411(c) of title 3, United States Code;
(E) is an employing agency covered under subchapter
V of chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code; or
(F) is the Comptroller General of the United
States.
(4) Person.--The term ``person'', except as used with the
term ``person in commerce'', has the meaning given the term in
section 3(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
203(a)).
(5) Person in commerce.--
(A) In general.--The term ``person in commerce''
means any person who is engaged in commerce, in any
industry or activity affecting commerce, or in the
production of goods for commerce.
(B) Commerce.--In subparagraph (A), the term
``commerce'' includes government.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Labor.
SEC. 202. ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HOURS WORKED.
(a) Rule.--
(1) In general.--An employer shall not discriminate against
an employee on the basis that such employee is scheduled to
work fewer hours per week, or is employed for a shorter
expected duration, than another employee of the employer if the
jobs of such employees require substantially equal skill,
effort, responsibility, and duties and such jobs are performed
under similar working conditions.
(2) Examples.--Discrimination described in paragraph (1)
shall include differential treatment with respect to--
(A) rate of compensation;
(B) notice of, and input into, work hours;
(C) eligibility to accrue, on a pro rata basis,
employer-provided paid and unpaid time off and other
benefits;
(D) promotion opportunities; or
(E) other terms, conditions, or privileges of
employment.
(b) Distinctions Permitted.--This section shall not be construed to
prohibit differences in rate of compensation, or other conditions,
terms, or privileges of employment, of employees of an employer for
reasons other than the number of hours the employees are scheduled to
work per week, or the expected duration of employment of the employees,
including for reasons such as--
(1) the date on which the employees are hired;
(2) a merit system; or
(3) a system that measures earnings by quantity per hour or
quality of production.
SEC. 203. OFFER OF WORK TO EXISTING EMPLOYEES.
(a) Written Statements Required.--Upon hiring an employee, an
employer shall--
(1) obtain a written statement of the employee's desired
number of weekly work hours and the days and times the employee
is available to work;
(2) notify the employee that this written statement may be
modified in writing at any time during employment; and
(3) specify the process to modify the written statement.
(b) Offer of Desired Weekly Work Hours to Existing Employees.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), an
employer shall schedule an employee to work the number of
weekly hours identified by the employee as desired weekly hours
in a written statement under subsection (a) prior to hiring any
new employee from an external applicant pool, including hiring
through the use of a temporary services or staffing agency, or
contracting with a contractor or subcontractor, to work such
hours.
(2) Exceptions.--An employer may hire an individual as a
new employee, or engage a contractor or subcontractor, to
perform work for the employer if--
(A) the employer needs to fill hours for which no
existing employees who have provided written statements
under subsection (a) are available based on such
written statements;
(B) all existing employees who have provided
written statements under subsection (a) lack, and
cannot obtain with reasonable training, the
qualifications necessary to perform the work; or
(C) scheduling any such employee to perform the
work would require providing such employee overtime
compensation at a rate not less than one and one half
times the regular rate at which the employee is
employed, in accordance with section 7 of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) or any
State law.
(c) Compensation Required.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), an
employee (referred to in this subsection as an ``existing
employee'') who is not scheduled for the desired number of
total weekly work hours identified by the employee in a written
statement under subsection (a) shall be compensated for each
hour worked by a newly hired employee, contractor, or
subcontractor hired after the existing employee so identified
such number of hours, during an hour that such existing
employee identified in a written statement under such
subsection as an hour for which the employee is available to
work.
(2) Exception.--An employer shall not be required to
compensate an existing employee under paragraph (1) for any
hour of work for which--
(A) the employee lacks, or cannot obtain with
reasonable training, the qualifications necessary to
perform the work;
(B) scheduling such employee to perform the work
would require providing the employee overtime
compensation as described in subsection (b)(2)(C);
(C) the employer made a reasonable attempt to
contact the employee to work such hour and was unable
to reach the employee; or
(D) the employee was otherwise no longer available.
(d) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the terms
``written'', with respect to a statement, and ``writing'' mean a
printed or printable communication in physical or electronic form.
SEC. 204. PROHIBITED ACTS.
(a) Interference With Rights.--It shall be unlawful for any
employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or the
attempt to exercise, any rights set forth under this title.
(b) Retaliation Prohibited.--It shall be unlawful for any employer
to discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, reduce work hours
of, or otherwise discriminate (including taking any other adverse
employment action) against any person because of an employee of the
employer exercising the rights of the employee under this title or
opposing any practice made unlawful by this title.
(c) Interference With Proceedings or Inquiries.--It shall be
unlawful for any person to discharge or in any other manner
discriminate against an individual because such individual--
(1) has filed any charge, or has instituted or caused to be
instituted any proceeding, under or related to this title;
(2) has given, or is about to give, any information in
connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right
provided under this title; or
(3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any inquiry
or proceeding relating to any right provided under this title.
SEC. 205. REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Investigative Authority.--
(1) In general.--To ensure compliance with this title,
including any regulation or order issued under this title, the
Secretary shall have, subject to paragraph (3), the
investigative authority provided under section 11(a) of the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)).
(2) Obligation to keep and preserve records.--
(A) In general.--Each employer shall maintain for a
period of not less than 3 years, or for the duration of
any claim (including the duration of a related civil
action or investigation) pending pursuant to this
title, whichever is longer, all records necessary to
demonstrate compliance with this title, including
compliance with the requirements of regulations issued
by the Secretary under section 206. Such records shall
include documentation of offers of hours of work to
employees and responses to such offers.
(B) Copies.--Each employer shall, upon a reasonable
request of an employee of the employer, provide the
employee with a copy of the records described in
subparagraph (A) relating to the employee.
(3) Required submissions generally limited to an annual
basis.--The Secretary shall not require, under the authority of
this subsection, any employer to submit to the Secretary any
books or records more than once during any 12-month period,
unless the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe there may
exist a violation of this title, including any regulation or
order issued pursuant to this title, or is investigating a
charge pursuant to subsection (c).
(4) Subpoena powers.--For the purposes of any investigation
provided for in this subsection, the Secretary shall have the
subpoena authority provided for under section 9 of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 209).
(b) Civil Action by Employees.--
(1) Liability.--
(A) In general.--Any employer who violates section
202, 203, or 204 (each such provision referred to in
this section as a ``covered provision'') shall be
liable to any person affected for--
(i) damages equal to the amount of--
(I) any wages, salary, employment
benefits (as defined in section 101 of
the Family and Medical Leave Act of
1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611)), or other
compensation denied, lost, or owed to
such employee by reason of the
violation; or
(II) in a case in which wages,
salary, employment benefits (as so
defined), or other compensation have
not been denied, lost, or owed to the
employee, any actual monetary losses
sustained by the employee as a direct
result of the violation;
(ii) interest on the amount described in
clause (i) calculated at the prevailing rate;