Section 7(q) of the Act, enacted as part of the 1989 Amendments,
provides an exemption from the overtime pay requirements for time spent
by certain employees who are receiving remedial education. The exemption
provided by section 7(q), as implemented by these regulations, allows
any employer to require that an employee spend up to 10 hours in the
aggregate in any workweek in remedial education without payment of
overtime compensation provided that the employee lacks a high school
diploma or educational attainment at the eighth-grade level; the
remedial education is designed to provide reading and other basic skills
at an eighth-grade level or below, or to fulfill the requirements for a
high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED)
certificate; and the remedial education does not include job-specific
training. Employees must be compensated at their regular rate of pay for
the time spent receiving such remedial education. The employer must
maintain a record of the hours
that an employee is engaged each workday and each workweek in receiving
remedial education, and the compensation paid each pay period for the
time so engaged, as described in 29 CFR 516.34. The remedial education
must be conducted during discrete periods of time set aside for such a
program, and, to the maximum extent practicable, away from the
employee's normal work station. An employer has the burden to establish
compliance with all applicable requirements of this special overtime
provision as set forth in section 7(q) of the Act and in this section of
the regulations. Section 7(q) is solely an exemption from the overtime
provisions of section 7(a) of the Act. It is not an exemption from the
requirements of any other law that regulates employment practices,
including the standards that are used to select individuals for
employment. An employer creating a remedial education program pursuant
to section 7(q) should be mindful not to violate other applicable
requirements. See, for example, title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.; Executive Order 11246, as
amended, 3 CFR part 339 (1964-1965 Compilation), reprinted in 42 U.S.C.
2000e note; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 701 et
seq.; and the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
published at 41 CFR part 60-3.
[56 FR 61101, Nov. 29, 1991]
