Healthy Families Act

II Calendar No. 136 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1664 To allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 17, 2023 Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Ms. COR- TEZ MASTO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FETTERMAN, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MAR- KEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions JULY 18, 2023 Reported by Mr. SANDERS, without amendment A BILL To allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1664 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Families Act’’. 2 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means a biologi- 5 cal, foster, or adopted child, a stepchild, a child of 6 a domestic partner, a legal ward, or a child of a per- 7 son standing in loco parentis. 8 (2) COMMERCE.—The terms ‘‘commerce’’ and 9 ‘‘industry or activity affecting commerce’’ mean any 10 activity, business, or industry in commerce or in 11 which a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct com- 12 merce or the free flow of commerce, and include 13 ‘‘commerce’’ and any ‘‘industry affecting com- 14 merce’’, as defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of sec- 15 tion 501 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 16 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (1) and (3)). 17 (3) DOMESTIC PARTNER.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘domestic 19 partner’’, with respect to an individual, means 20 another individual with whom the individual is 21 in a committed relationship. 22 (B) COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP DE- 23 FINED.—The term ‘‘committed relationship’’ 24 means a relationship between 2 individuals, 25 each at least 18 years of age, in which each in- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1664 RS dividual is the other individual’s sole domestic 1 partner and both individuals share responsi- 2 bility for a significant measure of each other’s 3 common welfare. The term includes any such 4 relationship between 2 individuals, including in- 5 dividuals of the same sex, that is granted legal 6 recognition by a State or political subdivision of 7 a State as a marriage or analogous relationship, 8 including a civil union or domestic partnership. 9 (4) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘domestic 10 violence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 11 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 12 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)), except that the ref- 13 erence in such section to the term ‘‘jurisdiction re- 14 ceiving grant funding’’ shall be deemed to mean the 15 jurisdiction in which the victim lives or the jurisdic- 16 tion in which the employer involved is located. Such 17 term also includes ‘‘dating violence’’, as that term is 18 defined in such section. 19 (5) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 20 an individual who is— 21 (A)(i) an employee, as defined in section 22 3(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 23 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)), who is not covered under 24 any other provision of this paragraph, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1664 RS such an employee of the Library of Congress, 1 except that a reference in such section to an 2 employer shall be considered to be a reference 3 to an employer described in paragraph 4 (6)(A)(i)(I); 5 (ii) an employee of the Government Ac- 6 countability Office; or 7 (iii) an employee of a covered employer de- 8 scribed in paragraph (6)(B)(i)(V) who performs 9 work that has been traditionally performed by 10 employees in a railroad industry craft or class 11 recognized under the Ninth paragraph of sec- 12 tion 2 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 13 152), including any employee who performs— 14 (I) work with respect to the movement 15 of trains; 16 (II) maintenance of way work; 17 (III) signal work; 18 (IV) work for purposes of the inspec- 19 tion, maintenance, repair, or cleaning of lo- 20 comotives, rail maintenance facilities, rail- 21 related equipment, or rail cars; 22 (V) dispatching work; 23 (VI) work with respect to the move- 24 ment of equipment within a rail yard; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1664 RS (VII) rail clerical or communications 1 work; 2 (B) a State employee described in section 3 304(a) of the Government Employee Rights Act 4 of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); 5 (C) a covered employee, as defined in sec- 6 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability 7 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301), other than an ap- 8 plicant for employment; 9 (D) a covered employee, as defined in sec- 10 tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; or 11 (E) a Federal officer or employee covered 12 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, 13 United States Code (without regard to the limi- 14 tation in section 6381(1)(B) of that title). 15 (6) EMPLOYER.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 17 means a person who is— 18 (i)(I) a covered employer who is not 19 described in any other subclause of this 20 clause; 21 (II) an entity employing a State em- 22 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 23 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1664 RS (III) an employing office, as defined 1 in section 101 of the Congressional Ac- 2 countability Act of 1995; 3 (IV) an employing office, as defined in 4 section 411(c) of title 3, United States 5 Code; or 6 (V) an employing agency covered 7 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 8 5, United States Code; and 9 (ii) engaged in commerce (including 10 government), or an industry or activity af- 11 fecting commerce (including government). 12 (B) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 13 (i) IN GENERAL.—In subparagraph 14 (A)(i)(I), the term ‘‘covered employer’’— 15 (I) means any person engaged in 16 commerce or in any industry or activ- 17 ity affecting commerce who employs 18 15 or more employees for each work- 19 ing day during each of 20 or more 20 calendar workweeks in the current or 21 preceding year; 22 (II) means a smaller employer, to 23 which the special rule in paragraph 24 (3) of section 3(a) applies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1664 RS (III) means the Government Ac- 1 countability Office and the Library of 2 Congress; 3 (IV) includes— 4 (aa) any person who acts, 5 directly or indirectly, in the inter- 6 est of an employer covered by 7 this clause to any of the employ- 8 ees of such employer; and 9 (bb) any successor in inter- 10 est of such an employer; and 11 (V) includes any rail carrier. 12 (ii) PUBLIC AGENCY.—For purposes 13 of clause (i), a public agency, as defined in 14 section 3(x) of the Fair Labor Standards 15 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(x)), shall be 16 considered to be a person engaged in com- 17 merce or in an industry or activity affect- 18 ing commerce. 19 (iii) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 20 this subparagraph: 21 (I) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘em- 22 ployee’’ has the meaning given such 23 term in section 3(e) of the Fair Labor 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1664 RS Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 1 203(e)). 2 (II) PERSON.—The term ‘‘per- 3 son’’ has the meaning given such term 4 in section 3(a) of the Fair Labor 5 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 6 203(a)). 7 (III) SMALLER EMPLOYER.—The 8 term ‘‘smaller employer’’ means any 9 person engaged in commerce or in any 10 industry or activity affecting com- 11 merce who employs fewer than 15 em- 12 ployees for each working day during 13 each of 20 or more calendar work- 14 weeks in the preceding year. 15 (C) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in 16 this paragraph to an employer, including such 17 a smaller employer, shall include a reference to 18 any predecessor of such employer. 19 (7) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em- 20 ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 21 made available to employees by an employer, includ- 22 ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 23 insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational bene- 24 fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1664 RS fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 1 an employer or through an ‘‘employee benefit plan’’, 2 as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retire- 3 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 4 1002(3)). 5 (8) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 6 ‘‘health care provider’’ means a provider who— 7 (A)(i) is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy 8 who is authorized to practice medicine or sur- 9 gery (as appropriate) by the State in which the 10 doctor practices; or 11 (ii) is any other person determined by the 12 Secretary to be capable of providing health care 13 services; and 14 (B) is not employed by an employer for 15 whom the provider issues certification under 16 this Act. 17 (9) PAID SICK TIME.—The term ‘‘paid sick 18 time’’ means an increment of compensated leave 19 that— 20 (A) can be earned by an employee for use 21 during an absence from employment for any of 22 the reasons described in paragraphs (1) 23 through (4) of section 3(b); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1664 RS (B) is compensated at a rate that is not 1 less than the greater of— 2 (i) the regular rate of pay of the em- 3 ployee; 4 (ii) the rate specified in section 5 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 6 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)); or 7 (iii) the rate specified in the applica- 8 ble State or local minimum wage law. 9 (10) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a bi- 10 ological, foster, or adoptive parent of an employee, 11 a stepparent of an employee, parent-in-law, parent 12 of a domestic partner, or a legal guardian or other 13 person who stood in loco parentis to an employee 14 when the employee was a child. 15 (11) RAIL CARRIER.—The term ‘‘rail carrier’’ 16 has the meaning given such term in section 10102 17 of title 49, United States Code. 18 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 19 means the Secretary of Labor. 20 (13) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as- 21 sault’’ has the meaning given the term in section 22 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 23 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1664 RS (14) SPOUSE.—The term ‘‘spouse’’, with re- 1 spect to an employee, has the meaning given such 2 term by the marriage laws of the State in which the 3 marriage was celebrated. 4 (15) STALKING.—The term ‘‘stalking’’ has the 5 meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of the 6 Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 7 12291(a)). 8 (16) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 9 ing given the term in section 3 of the Fair Labor 10 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 11 (17) UNPAID SICK TIME.—The term ‘‘unpaid 12 sick time’’ means the leave earned and used in the 13 same manner and under the same conditions and 14 procedures as paid sick time for the purposes of this 15 Act, except that no compensation shall be paid. 16 (18) VICTIM SERVICES ORGANIZATION.—The 17 term ‘‘victim services organization’’ means a non- 18 profit, nongovernmental organization that provides 19 assistance to victims of domestic violence, sexual as- 20 sault, or stalking or advocates for such victims, in- 21 cluding a rape crisis center, an organization carrying 22 out a domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking 23 prevention or treatment program, an organization 24 operating a shelter or providing counseling services, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1664 RS or a legal services organization or other organization 1 providing assistance through the legal process. 2 SEC. 3. EARNED PAID SICK TIME. 3 (a) EARNING OF PAID SICK TIME.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall provide 5 each employee employed by the employer not less 6 than 1 hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 7 hours worked, to be used as described in this sec- 8 tion. An employer shall not be required to permit an 9 employee to earn, under this section, more than 56 10 hours of paid sick time in a year, unless the em- 11 ployer chooses to set a higher limit. 12 (2) EXEMPT EMPLOYEES.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 14 subparagraph (B), for purposes of this section, 15 an employee who is exempt from overtime re- 16 quirements under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair 17 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 18 213(a)(1)) shall be deemed to work 40 hours in 19 each workweek. 20 (B) SHORTER NORMAL WORKWEEK.—If 21 the normal workweek of such an employee is 22 less than 40 hours, the employee shall earn 23 paid sick time based upon that normal work- 24 week. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jul 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1664.RS S1664 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 1664 RS (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR SMALLER EMPLOY- 1 ERS.—A smaller employer, as defined in section 2 2(6)(B)(iii), may provide paid sick time as provided 3 under paragraph (1) but if such smaller employer 4 opts not to do s [Text truncated for display. 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