Sponsors (10)
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a grant program to award grants to States to carry out a paid family leave program, to establish the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 30, 2025 by Stephanie I. Bice · Last progress April 30, 2025
The bill expands and standardizes access to paid parental leave—especially benefiting low‑income families and underserved States—while creating new costs, administrative burdens, and data‑sharing challenges that states, employers, and workers will need to finance and manage.
Parents and caregivers gain a guaranteed 6 weeks of paid leave for birth or adoption, providing protected time and income replacement during early childcare.
Low‑ and moderate‑income workers get higher, sliding‑scale pay replacement (up to ~67% for lower earners), which improves income security and makes leave more affordable for lower wage workers.
Federal grants and technical assistance fund state startup costs, shared technology, training, and interstate standards so more states—especially underserved ones—can launch or expand paid‑leave programs and make benefits more portable across State lines.
Employers and/or employees will likely face new payroll or premium contributions to finance programs, raising labor costs or reducing worker take‑home pay.
Eligibility rules (12 months tenure and 1,250 hours) will exclude some recent hires and certain part‑time or gig workers from receiving paid leave.
Limited grant award sizes and authorized appropriations, plus risk of withholding funds for unmet requirements, may slow statewide adoption and create funding uncertainty for programs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DOL competitive grant program and interstate network to help states adopt minimum-standard paid family leave programs (6-week minimum, benefit cap, benefit formula).
Creates a Labor Department competitive grant program to pay states to adopt and operate minimum-standard paid family leave programs and to join an interstate coordination network (I–PLAN). Grants reward states that meet baseline design rules (at least 6 weeks for birth/placement leave, benefit caps, a defined benefit calculation, single‑use entitlement, financing plan, and administrative standards) and that commit to interoperability and enrollment coordination through an interstate agreement. Establishes the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network (I–PLAN) of state focal points to develop and adopt a multistate agreement, requires regular meetings and technical coordination, and defines key terms including qualifying reasons (incorporating FMLA reasons), covered partnerships, national intermediary, and minimum program parameters for grant eligibility.