SENATE BILL NO. 202
INTRODUCED BY S. BARTLETT
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT ESTABLISHING A WORK PERIOD IN LIEU OF A WORKWEEK FOR EMPLOYEES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY; EXEMPTING CERTAIN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES FROM A MAXIMUM 8-HOUR WORKDAY; DEFINING "CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY"; REQUIRING AN EMPLOYER IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TO PAY OVERTIME COMPENSATION AFTER 8 HOURS IN A WORKDAY IF THE EMPLOYER OPERATES ON A SCHEDULE OF 5 DAYS OR MORE OR AFTER 10 HOURS IN A WORKDAY IF THE EMPLOYER OPERATES ON A SCHEDULE OF 4 DAYS OR LESS; AMENDING SECTIONS 39-3-402 AND 39-3-406, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
NEW SECTION. Section 1. Construction industry -- work period in lieu of workweek -- overtime compensation. (1) An employer in the construction industry may establish a work period other than that provided in 39-3-405 for determining when an employee must be paid overtime compensation.
(2) An employee in the construction industry must be compensated at a rate of not less than 1 1/2 times the hourly rate:
(a) after 8 hours in a workday if the employer operates on a schedule of 5 days or more; or
(b) after 10 hours in a workday if the employer operates on a schedule of 4 days or less.
(3) (a) In the case of either a 4-day workweek or a 5-day workweek, workdays in which the normally scheduled work is not performed because of inclement weather may not be counted as part of the workweek for overtime purposes. In those cases, the employer may schedule additional workdays to make up for workdays missed because of inclement weather.
(b) In the case of either a 4-day workweek or a 5-day workweek, when work is canceled for part of a workday because of inclement weather, the employer may schedule additional workdays to make up the time lost because of inclement weather. In those cases, the total of hours worked on each partial workday must be added to the total of hours worked on each makeup workday for overtime purposes.
NEW SECTION. Section 2. Construction industry -- day's work -- penalty. (1) For purposes of this section, "construction industry" has the meaning provided in 39-3-402.
(2) A period of not more than 8 hours constitutes a day's work in the construction industry except when employers are operating under a work period provided in [section 1] or in cases of emergencies in which life and property are in imminent danger.
(3) A person, corporation, agent, manager, or employer who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than $50 or more than $500 or by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 30 days or more than 6 months, or both.
Section 3. Section 39-3-402, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-3-402. Definitions. As used in this part, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and industry.
(2) "Construction industry" means the major group of general contractors and operative builders, heavy construction (other than building construction) contractors, and special trade contractors, listed in major groups 15 through 17 in the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification Manual. The term does not include office workers, design professionals, salespersons, estimators, or any other related employment that is not directly involved on a regular basis in the provision of physical labor at a construction or renovation site.
(2)(3) "Employ" means to suffer or permit to work.
(3)(4) "Employee" means an individual employed by an employer.
(4)(5) (a) "Farm or ranch" means an endeavor primarily engaged in cultivating the soil or in connection with raising or
harvesting an agricultural or horticultural commodity, including the raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and
management of livestock, bees, and poultry and fur-bearing animals and wildlife.
(b) As used in this subsection (4) (5), "livestock" includes ostriches, rheas, and emus.
(5)(6) "Farm worker" means a person employed to do a service performed on a farm or ranch.
(6)(7) "Occupation" means an occupation, service, trade, business, industry, or branch or group of industries or
employment or class of employment in which employees are gainfully employed.
(7)(8) (a) "Wage" means compensation due to an employee by reason of employment, payable in legal tender of the
United States or check on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value, subject to an allowance as may be
permitted by regulations of the commissioner under 39-3-403. The term "wage" includes the reasonable cost to the
employer of furnishing the employee with lodging or any other facility if the lodging or other facility is customarily
furnished by the employer to employees. However, the inclusion may not exceed an amount equal to 40% of the total wage
paid by the employer to the employee.
(b) The term "wage" does not include the cost to the employer of providing meals or a meal allowance to the employee or the value of tips or gratuities that are covered by section 3402(k) or service charges that are covered by section 3401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended and applicable on January 1, 1983, received by employees for services rendered by them to patrons of premises or businesses licensed to provide food, beverage, or lodging.
(c) For the purposes of this subsection (7) (8), "service charge" means an arbitrary fixed charge added to the customer's
bill by an employer in lieu of a tip. It is collected by the employer and must be distributed directly to the nonmanagement
employee preparing or serving the food or beverage or to any other employee involved in related services, pursuant to a tip
pool agreement."
Section 4. Section 39-3-406, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-3-406. Exclusions. (1) The provisions of 39-3-404 and 39-3-405 do not apply with respect to:
(a) students participating in a distributive education program established under the auspices of an accredited educational agency;
(b) persons employed in private homes whose duties consist of menial chores, such as babysitting, mowing lawns, and cleaning sidewalks;
(c) persons employed directly by the head of a household to care for children dependent upon the head of the household;
(d) immediate members of the family of an employer or persons dependent upon an employer for half or more of their support in the customary sense of being a dependent;
(e) persons who are not regular employees of a nonprofit organization and who voluntarily offer their services to a nonprofit organization on a fully or partially reimbursed basis;
(f) persons with disabilities engaged in work that is incidental to training or evaluation programs or whose earning capacity is so severely impaired that they are unable to engage in competitive employment;
(g) apprentices or learners, who may be exempted by the commissioner for a period not to exceed 30 days of their employment;
(h) learners under the age of 18 who are employed as farm workers, provided that the exclusion may not exceed 180 days from their initial date of employment and further provided that during this exclusion period, wages paid the learners may not be less than 50% of the minimum wage rate established in this part;
(i) retired or semiretired persons performing part-time incidental work as a condition of their residence on a farm or ranch;
(j) an individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity as these terms are defined by regulations of the commissioner;
(k) an individual employed by the United States of America;
(l) resident managers employed in lodging establishments or personal care facilities who, under the terms of their employment, live in the establishment or facility;
(m) an outside salesperson or marketing representative paid on a commission, contract, or salary basis who is primarily employed in selling or marketing products or services in the food distribution industry for a food broker, wholesaler, or association;
(n) a direct seller as defined in 26 U.S.C. 3508;
(o) a person placed as a participant in a public assistance program authorized by Title 53 into a work setting for the purpose of developing employment skills. The placement may be with either a public or private employer. The exclusion does not apply to an employment relationship formed in the work setting outside the scope of the employment skills activities authorized by Title 53.
(p) a person serving as a foster parent, licensed as a foster care provider in accordance with 41-3-1141, and providing care without wage compensation to no more than six foster children in the provider's own residence. The person may receive reimbursement for providing room and board, obtaining training, respite care, leisure and recreational activities, and providing for other needs and activities arising in the provision of in-home foster care.
(2) The provisions of 39-3-405 do not apply to:
(a) an employee with respect to whom the United States secretary of transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 31502;
(b) an employee of an employer subject to 49 U.S.C. 10501 and 49 U.S.C. 60501, the provisions of part I of the Interstate Commerce Act;
(c) an individual employed as an outside buyer of poultry, eggs, cream, or milk, in their raw or natural state;
(d) an outside salesperson paid on a commission or contract basis who is primarily employed in selling advertising for a newspaper;
(e) a salesperson, parts person, or mechanic paid on a commission or contract basis and primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, farm implements, or replacement parts if the salesperson, parts person, or mechanic is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling the vehicles, implements, or replacement parts to wholesalers or ultimate purchasers;
(f) a salesperson primarily engaged in selling trailers, boats, or aircraft if the salesperson is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling trailers, boats, or aircraft to ultimate purchasers;
(g) an outside salesperson paid on a commission or contract basis who is primarily employed in selling office supplies, computers, or other office equipment for an office equipment dealer;
(h) a salesperson paid on a commission or contract basis who is primarily engaged in selling advertising for a radio or television station employer;
(i) an employee employed as a driver or driver's helper making local deliveries who is compensated for the employment on the basis of trip rates or other delivery payment plan if the commissioner finds that the plan has the general purpose and effect of reducing hours worked by the employees to or below the maximum workweek applicable to them under 39-3-405;
(j) an employee employed in agriculture or in connection with the operation or maintenance of ditches, canals, reservoirs, or waterways that are not owned or operated for profit, that are not operated on a sharecrop basis, and that are used exclusively for supply and storing of water for agricultural purposes;
(k) an employee employed in agriculture by a farmer, notwithstanding other employment of the employee in connection with livestock auction operations in which the farmer is engaged as an adjunct to the raising of livestock, either alone or in conjunction with other farmers, if the employee is:
(i) primarily employed during a workweek in agriculture by a farmer; and
(ii) paid for employment in connection with the livestock auction operations at a wage rate not less than that prescribed by 39-3-404;
(l) an employee of an establishment commonly recognized as a country elevator, including an establishment that sells products and services used in the operation of a farm if no more than five employees are employed by the establishment;
(m) a driver employed by an employer engaged in the business of operating taxicabs;
(n) an employee who is employed with the employee's spouse by a nonprofit educational institution to serve as the parents of children who are orphans or one of whose natural parents is deceased or who are enrolled in the institution and reside in residential facilities of the institution so long as the children are in residence at the institution and so long as the employee and the employee's spouse reside in the facilities and receive, without cost, board and lodging from the institution and are together compensated, on a cash basis, at an annual rate of not less than $10,000;
(o) an employee employed in planting or tending trees; cruising, surveying, or felling timber; or transporting logs or other forestry products to a mill, processing plant, railroad, or other transportation terminal if the number of employees employed by the employer in the forestry or lumbering operations does not exceed eight;
(p) an employee of a sheriff's department who is working under an established work period in lieu of a workweek pursuant to 7-4-2509(1);
(q) an employee of a municipal or county government who is working under a work period not exceeding 40 hours in a 7-day period established through a collective bargaining agreement when a collective bargaining unit represents the employee or by mutual agreement of the employer and employee when a bargaining unit is not recognized. Employment in excess of 40 hours in a 7-day, 40-hour work period must be compensated at a rate of not less than 1 1/2 times the hourly wage rate for the employee.
(r) an employee of a hospital or other establishment primarily engaged in the care of the sick, disabled, aged, or mentally ill or defective who is working under a work period not exceeding 80 hours in a 14-day period established through either a collective bargaining agreement when a collective bargaining unit represents the employee or by mutual agreement of the employer and employee when a bargaining unit is not recognized. Employment in excess of 8 hours a day or 80 hours in a 14-day period must be compensated for at a rate of not less than 1 1/2 times the hourly wage rate for the employee.
(s) a firefighter who is working under a work period established in a collective bargaining agreement entered into between a public employer and a firefighters' organization or its exclusive representative;
(t) an officer or other employee of a police department in a city of the first or second class who is working under a work period established by the chief of police under 7-32-4118;
(u) an employee of a department of public safety working under a work period established pursuant to 7-32-115;
(v) an employee of a retail establishment if the employee's regular rate of pay exceeds 1 1/2 times the minimum hourly rate applicable under section 206 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) and if more than half of the employee's compensation for a period of not less than 1 month is derived from commissions on goods and services;
(w) a person employed as a guide, cook, camp tender, or livestock handler by a licensed outfitter as defined in 37-47-101;
(x) an employee employed as a radio announcer, news editor, or chief engineer by an employer in a second- or third-class city or a town;
(y) an employee of the consolidated legislative branch as provided in 5-2-503.;
(z) an employee employed in the construction industry under a work schedule established pursuant to [section 1]."
NEW SECTION. Section 5. Codification instruction. (1) [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 39, chapter 3, part 4, and the provisions of Title 39, chapter 3, part 4, apply to [section 1].
(2) [Section 2] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 39, chapter 4, part 1, and the provisions of Title 39, chapter 4, part 1, apply to [section 2].
NEW SECTION. Section 6. Applicability. [This act] applies to construction projects let on or after October 1, 1999.
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Latest Version of SB 202 (SB0202.01)
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Status of this Bill
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