Committee approves bill to exclude employer child/elder care payments from FLSA overtime rate
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Summary
The committee voted to report HR 2270, which would exclude employer‑provided child and elder care payments or services from the ‘‘regular rate’’ used to compute overtime under the FLSA. The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute and reported the bill; recorded committee tally 18 yeas, 13 nays.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce advanced HR 2270, the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act, voting to report the bill after adopting an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The committee’s recorded vote to report the bill was 18 yeas and 13 nays.
Representative Mesmer (R-Ind.) explained the bill as a response to rising childcare costs and said excluding child‑ and dependent‑care payments from the FLSA regular‑rate calculation would make it less expensive for employers to offer dependent‑care benefits to hourly workers. "This bipartisan legislation is a common sense effort to provide support for working families," he said.
Opponents said the change would weaken overtime protections. Representative Bonamici (D-Ore.) argued excluding such payments from the regular‑rate calculation "chips away at vital support for working families" and could allow employers to pay workers less for additional hours. Representative Cano (D‑Calif.) said the bill was "another attempt to chip away at the overtime protections that should be guaranteed to workers." Ranking Member Scott warned the bill could incentivize employers to shift compensation into excluded benefits and thereby reduce cash overtime pay.
Committee action: the amendment in the nature of a substitute (offered by Representative Mesmer) was considered original text and adopted; Representative Owens moved to report HR 2270 to the House with a favorable recommendation. The clerk announced a recorded vote of 18 yeas and 13 nays and the motion carried.
Discussion: committee members debated trade‑offs between encouraging employer‑provided care benefits and preserving overtime compensation; members also linked the discussion to larger concerns about federal support for child care and potential Medicaid/Head Start funding changes discussed elsewhere in the markup.
Decision: amendment adopted; committee reported HR 2270 to the House with a favorable recommendation (recorded vote 18–13).