Sponsors (5)
The bill expands family-care leave flexibility for spouses—benefiting families and potentially reducing turnover—while shifting costs and administrative burdens onto employers (especially small businesses) and increasing potential disputes over leave eligibility.
Eligible employees who are spouses — especially parents and middle-class families — can take broader or additional FMLA leave without prior time limits, increasing access to family caregiving time.
Employees and employers — particularly middle-class workers and small businesses — may experience improved employee retention and lower turnover costs because spouses have more flexible leave options.
Small businesses and taxpayers — as employers — may face increased staffing and wage costs if spouses take longer or additional FMLA leave.
Small businesses and middle-class families may see more disputes and higher administrative burden because greater ambiguity about allowable leave durations could increase conflicts over eligibility and scheduling.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Deletes the FMLA subsection that limited certain timing and combined-leave rules for spouses employed by the same employer, expanding spouses' leave entitlements.
Official title: To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, to repeal certain limits on leave for married individuals employed by the same employer.
Introduced May 14, 2025 by Sarah McBride · Last progress May 14, 2025
Removes the part of the Family and Medical Leave Act that limited how spouses could take their job-protected leave when both worked for the same employer. By repealing the specified subsection, the bill eliminates the statutory time limitation that constrained spouses' leave rights and expands the scope of leave entitlement under the FMLA.