H.R. 4773: Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act

114th Congress · introduced 2016-03-17 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2016-03-17 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Walberg, Tim [R-MI-7] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act

Plain summary

Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act This bill declares that the proposed or the final rule of the Department of Labor entitled "Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees" shall cease to have any force or effect. The rule revises the "white collar" exemption of executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees from minimum wage and maximum hour, or overtime, requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). If the proposed rule is a final rule on the date of enactment of this bill: Labor shall not enforce it based on conduct occurring before that enactment date, an employee shall not have any right of action against an employer for the employer's failure to comply with the final rule at any time before that enactment date, any regulations that were amended by the final rule shall be restored and revived as if the final rule had never taken effect, and nothing in this bill shall be construed to create a right of action for an employer against an employee for the recoupment of any payments made to the employee before the enactment of this bill that were in compliance with that final rule. Labor may promulgate any substantially similar rule only if it has completed certain required actions; but the rule shall not contain any automatic updates to the salary threshold for purposes of exemptions to minimum wage and maximum hour requirements under the FLSA. The requirement that definitions applicable for such exemptions be defined and delimited from time to time by Labor regulations shall be construed to: require Labor to issue a new rule through notice and comment rulemaking for each change in any salary threshold it has proposed; and exclude any rule that would result in changes to any salary threshold for multiple time periods, including through any automatic updating procedure. Labor may not promulgate any final rule that includes any revision to duties tests for exemption from minimum wage and maximum hours requirements unless specific regulatory text for the provision was proposed in the proposed rule.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Walberg, Tim [R-MI-7] · 202 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Glenn Thompson (R-PA), J. French Hill (R-AR), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Ryan K. Zinke (R-MT), Rick W. Allen (R-GA), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Steve Womack (R-AR), Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR), John R. Moolenaar (R-MI), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Scott Perry (R-PA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Jason Smith (R-MO), Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (R-TN), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and 142 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Walberg, Tim [R-MI-7] reported raising $2.2 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Exemption: A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr4773.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr4773 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114