January 13, 2026 · House · RC 19

Flexibility for Workers Education Act (unpaid training under the Fair Labor Standards Act)

House Bill, H.R. 2262

What it did

H.R. 2262, sponsored by Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and reported by the Education and Workforce Committee, amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) so that employer-offered training taken outside regular working hours no longer counts as hours worked, as long as the employer labels it voluntary and does not formally penalize anyone who skips it.

The FLSA is the same statute that carries the federal child-labor floor, and the hours-worked definition is what makes a minor's time on the job payable at all. Labor groups opposed the bill because a teenager or a low-wage worker who is told that training is optional, with the manager watching who shows up, is in no position to refuse.

A yes vote narrowed what counts as paid work. A no vote kept the current rule.

The bill failed on the floor 209-215 on January 13, 2026. At the time of this vote, the Department of Labor had found 5,792 children working in violation of federal child labor law in fiscal year 2023, an 88% rise since 2019.

Result: Failed 209-215

At the time of this vote: 5,792 children found working in violation of federal child labor law in fiscal year 2023 (Department of Labor), an 88% rise since 2019

The humane vote: No (NAY)

Official roll-call record

Members in this record who voted inhumanely (204)

Members in this record who voted humanely (210)