Title 48 — Territories and Insular PossessionsRelease 119-73not60

§2193 Application of Regulation to Puerto Rico

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

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The pay-exemption rules proposed by the Secretary of Labor on July 6, 2015 for certain salaried workers (like executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees) cannot be used in Puerto Rico until two things happen. First, the U.S. Comptroller General must study Puerto Rico’s economy and send a report to Congress. Second, the Secretary of Labor must write to Congress saying that applying the rule to Puerto Rico would not hurt its economy. The Comptroller General must finish the study and send the report by June 30, 2018, and must look at regional, metro, and non‑metro salary and cost‑of‑living differences. Congress also says the Census Bureau should study whether the Current Population Survey can include Puerto Rico and other territories, and should 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 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60