Federal Employee Paid Leave Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1174 To provide that 12 weeks of leave made available to a Federal employee shall be paid leave, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 11, 2019 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To provide that 12 weeks of leave made available to a Federal employee shall be paid leave, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Employee Paid 4 Leave Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PAID LEAVE FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES COVERED 6 BY TITLE 5. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6382 of title 5, United 8 States Code, is amended by striking subsections (c) and 9 (d) and inserting the following: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1174 IS ‘‘(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), leave taken by an 1 employee under subsection (a) shall be paid leave. 2 ‘‘(2) The paid leave that is available to an employee 3 for purposes of paragraph (1) is— 4 ‘‘(A) 12 administrative workweeks of paid leave, 5 in connection with the birth, placement, or other 6 event involved for which leave may be taken under 7 subsection (a), in the 12-month period referred to in 8 subsection (a); or 9 ‘‘(B) if regulations are promulgated under sub- 10 section (d), the number of administrative workweeks 11 specified in the regulations. 12 ‘‘(3)(A) An employee may elect to substitute for any 13 leave under subsection (a)(3) any other paid leave which 14 is available to such employee for the purpose described in 15 that subsection. 16 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to re- 17 quire that an employee first use all or any portion of the 18 other paid leave described in such subparagraph before 19 being allowed to use the paid leave described in paragraph 20 (1). 21 ‘‘(4) Paid leave described in paragraph (1)— 22 ‘‘(A) shall be payable from any appropriation or 23 fund available for salaries or expenses for positions 24 within the employing agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1174 IS ‘‘(B) shall not be considered to be annual or va- 1 cation leave for purposes of section 5551 or 5552 or 2 for any other purpose; and 3 ‘‘(C) if not used by the employee before the end 4 of the 12-month period (referred to in subsection 5 (a)) to which it relates, shall not accumulate for any 6 subsequent use. 7 ‘‘(5) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage- 8 ment shall prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out 9 this subsection, including regulations specifying the man- 10 ner in which an employee may designate any day or other 11 period as to which such employee wishes to use paid leave 12 described in paragraph (1) under subsection (a). 13 ‘‘(d) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage- 14 ment may promulgate regulations to increase the amount 15 of paid leave available to an employee under subsection 16 (a) to a total of not more than 16 administrative work- 17 weeks, based on the consideration of— 18 ‘‘(1) the benefits provided to the Federal Gov- 19 ernment of increasing such leave, including enhanced 20 recruitment and retention of employees; 21 ‘‘(2) the cost to the Federal Government of in- 22 creasing the amount of such leave; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1174 IS ‘‘(3) trends in the private sector and in State 1 and local governments with respect to offering an in- 2 creased amount of paid leave; 3 ‘‘(4) the Federal Government’s role as a model 4 employer; 5 ‘‘(5) the impact of increased paid leave under 6 subsection (a) on lower-income and economically dis- 7 advantaged employees and their children; and 8 ‘‘(6) such other factors as the Director con- 9 siders necessary.’’. 10 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by this 11 section shall not apply with respect to any event that— 12 (1) is a birth, placement, or other event for 13 which leave may be taken under section 6382(a) of 14 title 5, United States Code; and 15 (2) occurs before the end of the 6-month period 16 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 17 SEC. 3. PAID LEAVE FOR CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEES. 18 (a) AMENDMENTS TO CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNT- 19 ABILITY ACT.—Section 202 of the Congressional Account- 20 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1312) is amended— 21 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by adding at the end 22 the following: ‘‘In applying section 102(a) of such 23 Act to covered employees, subsection (d) shall 24 apply.’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1174 IS (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 1 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 2 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR PAID LEAVE FOR CONGRES- 5 SIONAL EMPLOYEES.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 7 leave taken by a covered employee under section 8 102(a) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 9 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)) shall be paid leave. 10 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAID LEAVE.—The paid leave 11 that is available to a covered employee for purposes 12 of paragraph (1) is— 13 ‘‘(A) the number of weeks of paid leave, in 14 connection with the birth, placement, or other 15 event involved for which leave may be taken 16 under section 6382(a) of title 5, United States 17 Code, that corresponds to the number of admin- 18 istrative workweeks of paid leave available to 19 Federal employees under section 6382(a) of 20 title 5, United States Code (taking into account 21 any increase under section 6382(d) of that 22 title); and 23 ‘‘(B) any additional paid vacation leave, 24 personal leave, family leave, or sick or medical 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1174 IS leave provided by the employing office to such 1 employee. 2 ‘‘(3) SUBSTITUTION.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee 4 may elect to substitute for any leave under 5 paragraph (3) of such section 102(a) any other 6 paid leave which is available to such covered 7 employee for the purpose described in that 8 paragraph. Section 102(d)(2) of the Family and 9 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 10 2612(d)(2)) shall not apply to covered employ- 11 ees. 12 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION.—Subparagraph (A) 13 shall not be construed to require that a covered 14 employee first use all or any portion of the 15 other paid leave described in such subparagraph 16 before being allowed to use the paid leave de- 17 scribed in paragraph (2)(A). 18 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL RULES.—Paid leave described 19 in paragraph (1)— 20 ‘‘(A) shall be payable from any appropria- 21 tion or fund available for salaries or expenses 22 for positions within the employing office; and 23 ‘‘(B) if not used by the covered employee 24 before the end of the 12-month period (referred 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1174 IS to in section 102(a)(1) of the Family and Med- 1 ical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1))) 2 to which it relates, shall not accumulate for any 3 subsequent use.’’. 4 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by this 5 section shall not apply with respect to any event that— 6 (1) is a birth, placement, or other event for 7 which leave may be taken under section 102(a) of 8 the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 9 U.S.C. 2612(a)); and 10 (2) occurs before the end of the 6-month period 11 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 12 SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO FAMILY AND MED- 13 ICAL LEAVE ACT FOR GAO EMPLOYEES. 14 (a) AMENDMENT TO FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE 15 ACT OF 1993.—Section 102(d) of the Family and Medical 16 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(d)) is amended by 17 adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR GAO EMPLOYEES.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 20 graph (B), any leave taken by an employee of 21 the Government Accountability Office under 22 subsection (a) shall be paid leave. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1174 IS ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF PAID LEAVE.—The paid 1 leave that is available to such an employee for 2 purposes of subparagraph (A) is— 3 ‘‘(i) the number of weeks of paid 4 leave, in connection with the birth, place- 5 ment, or other event involved for which 6 leave may be taken under section 6382(a) 7 of title 5, United States Code, that cor- 8 responds to the number of administrative 9 workweeks of paid leave available to Fed- 10 eral employees under section 6382(a) of 11 title 5, United States Code (taking into ac- 12 count any increase under section 6382(d) 13 of that title); and 14 ‘‘(ii) any additional paid vacation 15 leave, personal leave, family leave, or sick 16 or medical leave provided by such employer 17 to such employee. 18 ‘‘(C) SUBSTITUTION.— 19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An employee of 20 the Government Accountability Office may 21 elect to substitute for any leave under sub- 22 section (a)(3) any other paid leave which is 23 available to such employee for the purpose 24 described in that subsection. Paragraph 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1174 IS (2) shall not apply to employees of the 1 Government Accountability Office. 2 ‘‘(ii) CONSTRUCTION.—Clause (i) 3 shall not be construed to require that an 4 employee first use all or any portion of the 5 other paid leave described in such clause 6 before being allowed to use the paid leave 7 described in subparagraph (B)(i). 8 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL RULES.—Paid leave de- 9 scribed in subparagraph (A)— 10 ‘‘(i) shall be payable from any appro- 11 priation or fund available for salaries or 12 expenses for positions with the Government 13 Accountability Office; and 14 ‘‘(ii) if not used by the employee of 15 such employer before the end of the 12- 16 month period (referred to in subsection 17 (a)(1)) to which it relates, shall not accu- 18 mulate for any subsequent use.’’. 19 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by this 20 section shall not apply with respect to any event that— 21 (1) is a birth, placement, or other event for 22 which leave may be taken under section 102(a) of 23 the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 24 U.S.C. 2612(a)); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1174 IS (2) occurs before the end of the 6-month period 1 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 2 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL 3 GUARD AND RESERVES. 4 (a) EXECUTIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES.—For pur- 5 poses of determining the eligibility of an employee de- 6 scribed in section 6381(1)(A) of title 5, United States 7 Code, who is a member of the National Guard or Reserves 8 to take leave under section 6382(a) of such title, any serv- 9 ice by such employee on covered active duty (as defined 10 in section 6381(7) of such title) shall be counted as service 11 as an employee for purposes of section 6381(1)(B) of such 12 title. 13 (b) CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEES.—For purposes of 14 determining the eligibility of a covered employee (meaning 15 an employee defined as or considered to be a covered em- 16 ployee under section 101 of the Congressional Account- 17 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301)) who is a member 18 of the National Guard or Reserves to take leave under sec- 19 tion 102(a)(1) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 20 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)) (pursuant to section 21 202(a)(1) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 22 (2 U.S.C. 1312(a)(1))), any service by such covered em- 23 ployee on covered active duty (as defined in section 24 101(14) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1174 IS (29 U.S.C. 2611(14))) shall be counted as time during 1 which such employee has been employed in an employing 2 office for purposes of section 202(a)(2)(B) of the Congres- 3 sional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 4 1312(a)(2)(B)). 5 (c) GAO EMPLOYEES.—For purposes of determining 6 the eligibility of an employee of the Government Account- 7 ability Office who is a member of the National Guard or 8 Reserves to take leave under section 102(a)(1) of the 9 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 10 2612(a)(1)), any service by such employee on covered ac- 11 tive duty (as defined in section 101(14) of such Act (29 12 U.S.C. 2611(14))) shall be counted as time during which 13 such employee has been employed for purposes of section 14 101(2)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2611(2)(A)). 15 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENT FOR CERTAIN TSA EM- 16 PLOYEES. 17 Section 111(d)(2) of the Aviation and Transportation 18 Security Act (49 U.S.C. 44935 note) is amended to read 19 as follows: 20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 21 ‘‘(A) REEMPLOYMENT.—In carrying out 22 the functions authorized under paragraph (1), 23 the Under Secretary shall be subject to the pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1174 IS visions set forth in chapter 43 of title 38, 1 United States Code. 2 ‘‘(B) LEAVE.—The provisions of section 3 6382(a) of title 5, United States Code, and sub- 4 sections (c) and (d) of such section shall apply 5 to any individual appointed under paragraph 6 (1).’’. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1174.IS S1174 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS