H.R. 3090

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

To establish the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network to provide support and incentives for the development and adoption of an interstate agreement that facilitates streamlined benefit delivery, reduced administrative burden, and coordination and harmonization of State paid family and medical leave programs to benefit employees, States, and employers.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · April 30, 2025 · Sponsor: Ms. Houlahan · Committee: Committee on Education and Workforce

Table of contents

• H.R. 3090
  • SEC. 1. Short title
  • SEC. 2. Definitions
  • SEC. 3. Interstate Paid Leave Action Network
  • SEC. 4. National intermediary to support the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network
  • SEC. 5. Grants to eligible States
  • SEC. 6. Authorization of appropriations

SEC. 1. Short title

• This Act may be cited as the or .

SEC. 2. Definitions

• In this Act:
  • The term BLS means the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • The terms and mean a plan that— employer-provided paid family and medical leave plan,employer plan
  • The term I–PLAN means the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network established in section 3(a).
  • The term I–PLAN Agreement means the interstate agreement produced pursuant to section 3(b).
  • The term national intermediary means a national nongovernmental workforce organization that has extensive experience partnering with the Department of Labor to operate interstate technological systems and the electronic transmission of information and data for State workforce agencies and employers.
  • The term paid leave means an increment of compensated leave that is provided, in the case of a State program, by such State or, in the case of an employer plan, by such employer for use during a period in which such individual is not working due to a qualifying reason.
  • The term qualifying reason means, in relation to an individual, a reason described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 102(a)(1) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 () (applied for purposes of this paragraph as if the individual involved were the employee referred to in such section). 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)
  • The term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor.
  • The term State focal means, with respect to a State, an individual—
  • The terms and mean a program under State law that provides, during any 24-month period, a total of not less than 6 weeks of paid leave to individuals— State paid family and medical leave program,State program

SEC. 3. Interstate Paid Leave Action Network

• (a) In general
  • (1) Establishment
    • There is established an Interstate Paid Leave Action Network the purpose of which is to provide support and incentives for the development and adoption of an interstate agreement in accordance with this Act to benefit employees, States, and employers by—
      • facilitating streamlined benefit delivery;
      • reducing administrative burden; and
      • coordinating and harmonizing State programs.
  • (2) Membership
    • The I–PLAN shall include a State focal from each State receiving a conforming grant under section 5(a).
  • (3) Meetings
    • The I–PLAN shall meet not less than 3 times in each calendar year.
  • (4) Processes
    • (A) Certification
      • States shall certify to the Secretary their participation in the I–PLAN.
    • (B) Procedures
      • State focals may determine, in coordination with the Secretary, the process for the following:
        • (i) the order in which States approach the substance of each I–PLAN requirement;
        • (ii) the process by which States reach consensus on such substance and agree to the I–PLAN Agreement;
        • (iii) the process by which a State may leave the I–PLAN; and
        • (iv) other processes relevant to the success and administration of the I–PLAN as the Secretary determines.
  • (5) Roadmap
    • The I–PLAN shall develop, and annually update, a roadmap for developing and implementing the interstate agreement described in subsection (b) including metrics for success.
• (b) Duties
  • The duty of the I–PLAN shall be to produce an interstate agreement into which States offering a State paid family and medical leave program may enter and to periodically update such agreement as necessary to improve clarity and scope. Such agreement shall be publicly available and pursue each of the following requirements:
  • (1) Policy standard
    • Create a single policy standard with respect to all participating States to facilitate easier compliance with and understanding of paid leave programs across States, including definitions for the following:
      • Benefit day, week, and year.
      • Base period.
      • Intermittent and reduced schedule leave.
      • Place of performance.
      • Family members.
      • Employee eligibility.
      • Employee coverage.
      • Waiting period.
      • Covered wage.
  • (2) Administrative standard
    • Create a single administrative standard with respect to all participating States to facilitate easier compliance with and understanding of paid leave programs across States, including—

SEC. 4. National intermediary to support the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network

• (a) Authority To make grants
  • Subject to the availability of appropriations under section 6(a), the Secretary, acting through the Employment and Training Administration, shall award a grant to one national intermediary to facilitate the activities of the I–PLAN.
• (b) Use of funds
  • A national intermediary awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall use funds for the costs related to each of the following:
  • (1) Meetings
    • Meeting activities, including—
      • convening the State focals as described in section 3(a)(3), including reasonable travel, transportation, and other expenses of State focals and staff of the national intermediary (and any necessary accompanying State personnel);
      • making publicly available information on the agendas and outcomes of such meetings; and
    • (C)
      • (i) not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, making publicly available the roadmap described under section 3(a)(5); and
      • (ii) making any updates to such roadmap publicly available.
  • (2) Annual report
    • Producing and making publicly available on an annual basis a report that compares State programs, including information on—
      • benefit eligibility;
      • the maximum number of weeks an eligible employee is allowed to receive benefits—
        • (i) for each qualifying reason; and
        • (ii) in aggregate;
      • wage replacement rate and how that may vary based on prior earnings;
      • maximum weekly benefit amount;
      • how such programs are financed by employees and employers, including the payroll tax rate and amount of wages subject to tax;
      • whether and how such programs allow employers to provide employer plans, taking into consideration elements such as—
        • (i) benefit payment timeliness; and
        • (ii) employer and employee administrative complexity;
      • whether and how such programs coordinate with other types of paid-time off and leaves of absence;
      • the reasons, including qualifying reasons, under which an individual is eligible to take paid family and medical leave; and
      • other activities essential for the success, effectiveness, and sustainability of the I–PLAN.
  • (3) Outreach and coordination
    • Engagement, consulting, and gathering relevant information in coordination with I–PLAN States from a wide range of external stakeholders, including—
      • State legislatures;
      • Governors;
      • employees;
      • representatives of employers, including—
        • (i) employers with employees in multiple States; and
        • (ii) employers with fewer than 50 employees;

SEC. 5. Grants to eligible States

• (a) Conforming grants
  • (1) In general
    • (A) Authority to make grants
      • Subject to the availability of appropriations under section 6(b), the Secretary, acting through the Employment and Training Administration, shall, on an annual basis, make a conforming grant to each eligible State.
    • (B) Amount of grant
      • (i) A grant to an eligible State under this subsection shall be—
      • not less than $1,500,000 and not more than $8,000,000; and
      • subject to subclause (I), awarded on the basis of the relative annual level of employment (as published by the Current Employment Statistics program of the BLS) of the eligible State, compared to the annual level of employment in all eligible States.
      • (ii) The amounts specified in clause (i) shall be ratably increased or decreased to the extent that funds available under section 6(b) exceed or are less than (respectively) the amount required to provide the amounts specified in clause (i).
  • (2) Eligible States
    • (A) In general
      • To be eligible to receive a grant under paragraph (1), a State shall—
        • (i) have a State focal; and
        • (ii) participate in the I–PLAN in good faith.
    • (B) Good faith requirement
      • (i) If the Secretary, in consultation with the national intermediary awarded the grant under section 4(a), determines that a State is not participating in the I–PLAN in good faith, the Secretary—
      • shall provide warning and feedback to States in a prompt manner; and
      • if, six months after the date on which the Secretary provides such warning and feedback, the Secretary determines such State continues not to participate in the I–PLAN in good faith, the Secretary may elect to withhold a portion or the total amount of a grant under paragraph (1) to such State.
      • (ii) If the Secretary elects to withhold an amount from a State under clause (i)(II), the Secretary may later elect to provide the amount so withheld to such State if the Secretary later determines that such State is participating in good faith.
• (b) Implementation grants
  • (1) In general
    • (A) Authority to make grants
      • Subject to the availability of appropriations under section 6(c), the Secretary, acting through the Employment and Training Administration, shall, on an annual basis, make an implementation grant to each eligible State.
    • (B) Amount of grant
      • (i) A grant to an eligible State under this subsection shall be—
      • not less than $1,500,000 and not more than $8,000,000; and
      • subject to subclause (I), awarded on the basis of the relative annual level of employment (as published by Current Employment Statistics program of the BLS) of the eligible State, compared to the annual level of employment in all eligible States.

SEC. 6. Authorization of appropriations

• (a) National intermediary grant
  • There are authorized to be appropriated not more than $10,000,000 for the purposes of section 4 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
• (b) Conforming grants
  • There are authorized to be appropriated not more than $40,000,000 for the purposes of section 5(a) for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
• (c) Implementation grants
  • There are authorized to be appropriated not more than $40,000,000 for the purposes of section 5(b) for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2028.

• the process by which employers respond to requests from States to verify and provide employee information for eligibility determinations, including wages and work history;
• the process by which employers provide periodic and permanent notice of the availability of paid leave under a State program or employer plan to employees;
• employees’ responsibility to provide notices of leave to their employers;
• timing of and process for collecting payroll contributions;
• coordinating with other types of paid time off and leaves of absence;
• continuing other benefits;
• accessing employee leave information;
• protecting personal information;
• creating and updating written leave materials such as handbooks;
• maintaining records and documentation; and
• if a State program permits employers to elect to provide employer plans, facilitating such election, including by creating a single equivalency standard with respect to all participating States to determine whether the maximum monetary value of an employer plan for the average weekly wage of workers in the State for total covered establishments in all industries (based on the most recent calendar year for which data are available from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program of the BLS) is greater than or equal to the maximum monetary value of a State program (or that of multiple States), taking into account programmatic elements such as—
  • (i) how benefit duration, wage replacement, absence of a weekly benefit cap, absence of a waiting week, and other factors interact in a quantitative manner; and
  • (ii) how an individual taking paid family and medical leave for a qualifying reason affects the ability of such individual to take paid family and medical leave for another qualifying reason.