Title 48 — Territories and Insular PossessionsRelease 119-73

§2193 Application of regulation to Puerto Rico

Title 48 › Chapter CHAPTER 20— - PUERTO RICO OVERSIGHT, MANAGEMENT, AND ECONOMIC STABILITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS › § 2193

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Regulations the Secretary of Labor proposed on July 6, 2015 about pay rules for certain workers must not apply in Puerto Rico until two things happen. First, the Comptroller General must finish and send to Congress the study required below. Second, the Secretary of Labor must tell Congress in writing, after looking at that study, that using the rule in Puerto Rico would not hurt its economy. The Comptroller General must, not later than two years after June 30, 2016, study Puerto Rico’s economy and report how the rule would affect it, looking at regional, metro, and non‑metro pay and cost differences. Congress also says the Census Bureau should study adding Puerto Rico and other territories to the Current Population Survey and ask for any needed funding in its fiscal year 2018 budget.

Full Legal Text

Title 48, §2193

Territories and Insular Possessions — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The regulations proposed by the Secretary of Labor relating to exemptions regarding the rates of pay for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees, and published in a notice in the Federal Register on July 6, 2015, and any final regulations issued related to such notice, shall have no force or effect in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico until—

(1)the Comptroller General of the United States completes the assessment and transmits the report required under subsection (b); and

(2)the Secretary of Labor, taking into account the assessment and report of the Comptroller General, provides a written determination to Congress that applying such rule to Puerto Rico would not have a negative impact on the economy of Puerto Rico.

(b)Not later than two years after June 30, 2016, the Comptroller General shall examine the economic conditions in Puerto Rico and shall transmit a report to Congress assessing the impact of applying the regulations described in subsection (a) to Puerto Rico, taking into consideration regional, metropolitan, and non-metropolitan salary and cost-of-living differences.

(c)It is the sense of Congress that—

(1)the Bureau of the Census should conduct a study to determine the feasibility of expanding data collection to include Puerto Rico and the other United States territories in the Current Population Survey, which is jointly administered by the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and which is the primary source of labor force statistics for the population of the United States; and

(2)if necessary, the Bureau of the Census should request the funding required to conduct this feasibility study as part of its budget submission to Congress for fiscal year 2018.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

48 U.S.C. § 2193

Title 48 — Territories and Insular Possessions

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73