Sponsors (208)
Official title: To provide paid family and medical leave benefits to certain individuals, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 16, 2025 by Rosa L. Delauro · Last progress September 16, 2025
The bill establishes a nationwide, federally administered paid family and medical leave program that expands income support and legal protections for many caregivers and survivors, but it increases federal and employer costs, creates administrative and privacy burdens, and leaves potential gaps for irregular or very low‑paid workers.
Parents and family caregivers across the country gain a federally administered paid family and medical leave benefit with defined eligibility and guaranteed monthly payments, improving income support while caring for themselves or loved ones.
Low- and middle-income workers receive progressive income replacement and a minimum benefit floor, reducing the risk of severe income loss during leave.
Workers experiencing domestic or sexual violence can take paid leave to obtain safety and support services, improving survivor access to help.
Taxpayers and the federal budget will face higher costs from benefit payments, expanded eligibility, and the creation/staffing of a new SSA office to run the program.
Small businesses and employers will face increased costs and compliance burdens (job restoration, continued health coverage, reporting, and administrative requirements), which could be particularly acute for smaller firms.
Gig, intermittent, and very low‑paid workers risk exclusion due to earnings floors, the lookback to the prior month to define a regular workweek, and rules treating months with under‑4 hours as zero, leaving many vulnerable workers without benefits.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a federal paid family and medical leave insurance program administered by SSA with eligibility, a tiered benefit formula, and grants to qualifying State programs.
Creates a national Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FMLI) program administered by a new Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave inside the Social Security Administration. The law defines who qualifies for leave, how eligibility and monthly benefit amounts are calculated (with a tiered wage-replacement formula), sets an earnings floor and indexing rules, and provides annual grants to certain existing State paid‑leave (“legacy”) programs that meet data‑sharing requirements. The program’s payments and operations begin for benefit periods starting in 2026, and the GAO must report on program performance and timeliness on a regular schedule.