18. Department of Labor and Related Agencies · Minor · Needs Congress
Base the overtime regular rate on salary rather than benefits
Printed page 592 18. Department of Labor and Related Agencies
“Congress should clarify that the “regular rate” for overtime pay is based on the salary paid rather than all benefits provided. This would enable employers to offer additional benefits to employees without fear that those benefits would dramatically increase overtime pay.”
What has happened
- Not started
No bill of the 119th Congress redefines the FLSA regular rate as the salary paid rather than salary plus benefits. Two narrower regular-rate bills reached the House floor under H. Res. 988 on 2026-01-13 and neither passed: H.R. 2270 would have excluded child and dependent care services and payments (proceedings postponed with no vote) and H.R. 2262 would have excluded certain education activities from hours worked (failed on passage, 209-215).
No action found yet. This entry is the starting point, not a finding.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- Negative search: chapter log, Cluster negative search — the FLSA amendment asks.
- §3b “progress is measured on this ask”: excluding one category of benefit from the regular rate is not rebasing the regular rate on salary, so neither floor bill moves this item, and in any case neither passed.
- Action
- other
- Object
- “Regular rate” for overtime pay
- ID
- 1630