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H.R. 1784 97th Congress House

Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1981

Official title: A bill to revise the overtime compensation requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide that effective January 1, 1985, employees who work m… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to revise the overtime compensation requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide that effective January 1, 1985, employees who work more than thirty-five hours in any workweek shall receive overtime compensation for such work at twice their regular rate of pay and for other purposes.

Introduced: February 5, 1981 See on congress.gov
Labor and Employment Employee rightsHours of laborOvertimeStandardsWages
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This bill died when the 97th Congress ended
It never became law before the 97th Congress (1981–1982) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 13, 1981
Referred to Subcommittee on Labor Standards.
Feb 5, 1981
Referred to House Committee on Education and Labor.
Feb 5, 1981
Introduced in House
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 Latest action February 13, 1981

Referred to Subcommittee on Labor Standards.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1981 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the minimum rate of overtime pay to two times the rate of regular pay.

Reduces in two stages (in 1983 and 1985) the maximum hours which an employee must work in order to qualify for overtime pay so that by 1985 an employee shall be entitled to overtime pay for a workweek in excess of 35 hours. Decreases the number of hours which certain employees who are excepted from the present 40 per week maximum hour rule must work in order to qualify for overtime pay.

Prohibits any employer from knowingly permitting an employee to work overtime without the employee's consent. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to promulgate exceptions to such prohibition for emergency situations in which the production in an establishment would be severely jeopardized if no exception existed. Specifies a formula for determining liquidated damages for violations of such prohibition.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1784: Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1981. 97th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/97-HR-1784/
MLA
"H.R. 1784: Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1981." 97th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/97-HR-1784/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1784, 97th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/97-HR-1784/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1784: Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1981](https://openamerica.io/bill/97-HR-1784/)
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