text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Travelling Sales Crew Protection 
  Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938 TO CERTAIN 
                OUTSIDE SALESMEN.
  
      (a) In General.--Section 13 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
  (29 U.S.C. 213) is amended by adding at the end the following:
      ``(k) For purposes of subsection (a)(1), and notwithstanding any 
  other provision of law, the term `outside salesman' does not include 
  any individual employed in the position of a salesman, if the 
  individual travels with a group of salespeople, including a supervisor, 
  team leader or crew leader, and the employees in the group do not 
  return to their permanent residences at the end of the work day.''.
      (b) Limitation on Child Labor.--Section 12 of the Fair Labor 
  Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) is amended by adding at the end 
  the following:
      ``(e) No individual under 18 years of age may be employed in a 
  position requiring the individual to engage in door-to-door sales or in 
  related support work in a manner that requires the individual to remain 
  away from the individual's permanent residence for more than 24 
  hours.''.
  
  SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF TRAVELLING SALES CREWS.
  
      (a) Travelling Sales Crew Worker Defined.--(1) Except as provided 
  in paragraph (2), the term ``travelling sales crew worker'' means an 
  individual who--
                      (A) is employed as a salesperson or in related 
                  support work;
                      (B) travels with a group of salespersons, including 
                  a supervisor; and
                      (C) is required to be absent overnight from his or 
                  her permanent place of residence.--
      (2) Such term does not include--
              (D) any individual who meets the requirements of 
          subparagraph (A) if such individual is travelling to a trade 
          show or convention; or
              (E) any immediate family member of a travelling sales crew 
          employer.
      (b) Secretary to Prescribe Rules.--Not later than 180 days after 
  the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor (hereinafter 
  in this Act, the ``Secretary'') shall prescribe rules governing the 
  protection of travelling sales crews. Such rules shall contain the 
  following requirements:
              (1) Registration.--Each employer or supervisor of a 
          travelling sales crew worker must obtain a certificate of 
          registration from the Secretary. The Secretary shall prescribe 
          the manner of application and the standards for issuance for 
          such a certificate, including a reasonable fee for such 
          application.
              (2) Employer requirements.--An employer of travelling sales 
          crew workers must carry out the following duties, in accordance 
          with the rules prescribed by the Secretary:
                      (A) Disclosure of conditions of employment.--The 
                  employer must disclose to each travelling sales crew 
                  worker employed by such employer, in writing, 
                  information related to such worker's conditions of 
                  employment, including the rate of pay, applicable pay 
                  period, duration of employment, and whether the 
                  employer provides workers' compensation insurance 
                  coverage for the worker.
                      (B) Payment of wages, recordkeeping.--For each pay 
                  period, the employer must--
                              (i) pay to each travelling sales crew 
                          worker employed by such employer wages owed 
                          such worker when due;
                              (ii) make such payment in United States 
                          currency or by negotiable instrument; and
                              (iii) provide a written statement to each 
                          travelling sales crew worker employed by such 
                          employer, and maintain records (which must be 
  kept for at least 3 years), relating to the earnings of (and any 
  withholdings of earnings from) each such worker.
                      (C) Employer payment of employee business 
                  expenses.--Other than a deduction from wages for the 
                  actual cost to the employer of any board, lodging, or 
                  other facilities provided by the employer to a 
                  travelling sales crew worker employed by such employer, 
                  the employer may not require the worker--
                              (i) to purchase any goods or services 
                          solely from the employer; or
                              (ii) to pay for any of the employer's 
                          business expenses.
                      (D) Vehicle insurance.--The employer must maintain 
                  liability insurance coverage in compliance with any 
                  applicable State law and sufficient (as determined by 
                  the Secretary) to protect any travelling sales crew 
                  workers transported in such a vehicle and to ensure 
                  against liability to other persons and property arising 
                  from the use of such vehicle for such purpose, except 
                  that if the Secretary determines that such workers are 
                  covered under an applicable workers' compensation 
                  insurance policy provided by the employer, additional 
                  vehicle insurance covering such workers may be waived 
                  by the Secretary.
                      (E) Transportation safety.--The employer must 
                  maintain any motor vehicle used to transport a 
                  travelling sales crew worker employed by such employer 
                  in compliance with any applicable Federal, State, or 
                  local vehicle safety standards and with any additional 
                  safety rules prescribed by the Secretary.
                      (F) Housing safety.--The employer must maintain any 
                  lodging owned or controlled by the employer in 
                  compliance with any applicable Federal, State, or local 
                  housing, sanitation, health, building, or other safety 
                  standards and with any additional safety rules 
                  prescribed by the Secretary.
                      (G) Prohibition on discrimination.--An employer, or 
                  an agent of the employer, may not intimidate, threaten, 
                  restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in any 
                  manner discriminate against any travelling sales crew 
                  worker because such worker has, with just cause, filed 
                  any complaint or instituted, or caused to be 
                  instituted, any proceeding under or related to this 
                  Act, or has testified or is about to testify in any 
                  such proceeding, or because of the exercise, with just 
                  cause, by such worker on behalf of the worker or others 
                  of any right or protection afforded by this Act.
  
  SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.
  
      (a) Criminal Sanctions.--An employer that willfully and knowingly 
  violates a rule prescribed under this Act shall be imprisoned for not 
  more than one year or fined not more than $10,000, or both. Upon 
  conviction for a subsequent violation of a rule prescribed under this 
  Act, an employer shall be imprisoned for not more than 3 years or fined 
  not more than $50,000, or both.
      (b) Civil Penalty.--An employer that violates a rule prescribed 
  under this Act shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty 
  of not more than $10,000 for each such violation. The Secretary may 
  assess and collect such civil penalty after a determination, made on 
  the record after opportunity for an agency hearing, of--
              (1) liability for such violation; and
              (2) the appropriate amount of the penalty, based on the 
          previous compliance record of the employer and the gravity of 
          the violation.
      (c) Administrative Actions.--The Secretary shall prescribe rules 
  providing a procedure for an aggrieved travelling sales crew worker to 
  file an administrative complaint with the Secretary, which the 
  Secretary shall investigate and follow up with any appropriate 
  enforcement action against the employer of such worker, including 
  referral to the Attorney General of such employer for criminal 
  sanctions under subsection (a), the imposition by the Secretary of a 
  civil penalty under subsection (b), or the filing of a civil action on 
  behalf of such worker to enjoin such employer under subsection (d).
      (d) Civil Action.--Any person aggrieved by a violation of a rule 
  prescribed under this Act (or the Secretary, on behalf of any such 
  person) may bring, in an appropriate United States district court 
  (without regard to the amount in controversy, the citizenship of the 
  parties, or the exhaustion of administrative remedies), a civil 
  action--
              (1) to enjoin such violation;
              (2) to recover the greater of--
                      (A) actual damages; or
                      (B) not more than $1,000 for each such violation 
                  for each plaintiff (which may not exceed $1,000,000 for 
                  all plaintiffs in a class); and
              (3) for other equitable relief; and
              (4) to recover the costs of the litigation and a reasonable 
          attorney fee.
target: Traveling Sales Crew Protection Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to: (1) exclude from an exemption from minimum wage and overtime requirements (thus applying such requirements to) employee members of traveling sales crews who do not return to their permanent residences at the end of the workday; and (2) prohibit minors from being employed in door-to-door sales or related support work requiring them to remain away from their permanent residences for more than 24 hours.Requires certificates of registration for employers and supervisors of traveling sales crews operations. Sets forth various obligations of employers of traveling sales crew workers. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) administer such registration system; and (2) promulgate safety and health standards for vehicles used to transport traveling sales crew members. Sets forth enforcement provisions, including criminal sanctions, civil penalties, administrative complaints, and private rights of action.
feat_title: To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to ensure the protection of employees in travelling sales crews, and for other purposes.