H.R. 2270 explained · 119th Congress · Pending in Congress
Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act
Cosponsors: 8 (1 D, 7 R) · per Congress.gov, 2026-10-09
Introduced: 2025-03-21
Latest action (2026-01-13): POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on H.R. 2270 is postponed.
What H.R. 2270 does, in plain terms
Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act This bill excludes the value of employer-funded child or dependent care from being used in calculating an eligible employee's overtime pay. Under current law, overtime hours must be paid at one and a half times an employee's regular rate of pay. This rate is an average hourly rate that must include certain types of pay, such as commissions. The bill specifies that an employer can provide or pay for child or dependent care services without the value of the services being included in this calculation.
Official summary by the Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov.
Constitution Index
“VFA Constitution grade”
Constitutionally sound
Graded 2026-10-13
SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology
The bill is a narrow amendment to federal wage law that excludes employer-provided child and dependent care benefits from the calculation of overtime pay. It does not exceed federal enumerated powers, does not infringe on any constitutional rights, and does not restrict individual sovereignty. It appropriately leaves the decision to provide such benefits to employers and employees, and it does not consolidate power upward. The bill does not implicate due process or takings concerns.
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✓ Passes · Enumerated powers
The bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is a valid exercise of Congress's power under the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) to regulate interstate commerce and labor conditions affecting commerce. The regulation of overtime pay is a longstanding exercise of this authority. -
✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
The bill does not implicate any of the first ten amendments. It does not restrict speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, takings, trial rights, or cruel and unusual punishment. It is a purely economic regulation of the employer-employee relationship. -
✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
The bill does not restrict individual freedom. It merely clarifies that employer-provided child or dependent care benefits are not counted in overtime pay calculations. This does not compel anyone to do anything; it simply defines the scope of a wage calculation. Employers and employees remain free to negotiate compensation packages as they see fit. -
✓ Passes · Decentralization
The bill does not consolidate decision-making at a higher level of government. It adjusts a federal wage law that already exists, and the change is narrow and technical. The decision to provide child or dependent care benefits remains with individual employers and employees, not with any level of government. The federal government is not taking on new powers; it is merely refining an existing regu… -
✓ Passes · Due process and takings
The bill does not deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process, nor does it take private property for public use without just compensation. It does not impose penalties or alter legal rights in a way that would require procedural safeguards. It is a straightforward statutory amendment with no due process or takings implications.
Sources: Congress.gov: HR 2270 summary
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