Sponsor
Delia Ramirez
Representative · D-IL
Representative · D-IL
The bill expands and clarifies family/medical leave coverage for VA employees (including VHA chapter 74 staff and by treating a spouse's parent as a parent) improving leave access and legal clarity, at the potential cost of increased short-term staffing strains, higher personnel costs, and some statutory conflict risk.
VA employees: the bill treats a spouse's parent as the employee's parent for family/medical leave purposes, expanding who qualifies for FMLA-like leave.
Veterans Health Administration frontline staff: employees hired under chapter 74 are explicitly covered so VHA healthcare workers can use FMLA-like leave for qualifying family needs.
Federal employees and families: clarified statutory definitions (e.g., 'employee', 'parent') reduce legal uncertainty about who qualifies for leave under this provision.
Veterans and VA operations: expanded leave eligibility could increase staffing strains at VA facilities, potentially affecting access to or continuity of care.
Taxpayers and the VA budget: broader leave rights may raise short-term personnel costs (overtime, temporary backfills) to cover absences.
Department of Veterans Affairs and employees: the bill's 'notwithstanding' language overriding 38 U.S.C. § 7421 could create statutory conflicts and invite litigation over which law controls.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
Allows VA covered employees to treat a spouse’s parent as a parent for federal family and medical leave eligibility.
Official title: To deem certain individuals as parents of Department of Veterans Affairs employees for purposes of determining entitlement to certain family and medical leave for such employees.
Introduced March 16, 2026 by Delia Ramirez · Last progress March 16, 2026
Treats a parent of the spouse of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) covered employee as a parent of that employee for purposes of federal family and medical leave eligibility, so VA employees can use family/medical leave to care for their spouse’s parent. It clarifies that this treatment applies regardless of other laws that might limit eligibility and explicitly includes VA employees appointed under chapter 74 (Veterans Health Administration) within the definition of covered employee.