Sponsors (48)
Introduced February 5, 2025 by Jahana Hayes · Last progress February 5, 2025
The bill meaningfully expands who can take family and caregiving leave and adds small, flexible intermittent leave benefits—improving equity and work–family balance for many—while increasing costs, scheduling complexity, and administrative burdens for employers, agencies, and some low-income workers who lack paid accruals.
Millions of employees (private-sector workers, federal employees, and military caregivers) can take FMLA or federal caregiving leave to care for a much wider set of relatives and close associates (grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, in‑laws, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, adult children, domestic partners, and close non‑kin).
Employees in committed but unmarried or nontraditional relationships (including domestic partners and close non‑kin) are explicitly eligible for leave, promoting equity for diverse family structures.
Parents and caregivers (including federal employees) gain up to 24 hours per year of additional intermittent leave for school/community activities and routine family medical needs, usable in small increments or reduced schedules.
Small businesses and other employers face broader leave obligations that are likely to increase staffing disruptions, replacement costs, and scheduling complexity when more employees take leave for expanded categories of family members.
Employing agencies and private employers will face higher administrative and verification burdens because the 'close association' standard and new certification/notice rules are broader and harder to document, increasing paperwork and supervisory time.
Employees without accrued paid leave—often low-income and hourly workers—may have to take the new intermittent hours unpaid or exhaust limited accruals, reducing take‑home pay.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Expands family definitions under FMLA and federal leave and creates limited intermittent leave for parental/community activities and routine family medical care (4 hrs/30 days; 24 hrs/12 months).
Expands who counts as “family” under both the private-sector Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and federal employee leave law to include domestic partners, many additional relatives (grandparents, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, aunts/uncles, siblings, in‑laws, adult children, and others with close personal bonds), and clarifies related definitions. It also creates a new limited intermittent leave right so eligible employees can attend school- or community-sponsored activities for a son, daughter, or grandchild, handle routine family medical care, or care for elderly or similarly close-associated individuals—capped at 4 hours per 30 days and 24 hours per 12‑month leave year. The bill updates eligibility and certification rules, allows substitution of accrued paid leave for the new intermittent leave (subject to existing substitution rules), requires notice and reasonable scheduling for such leave, and applies parallel changes to federal employee leave law.