“A bill to provide paid family and medical leave benefits to certain individuals, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including "caregiving hour" (i.e., a one-hour period of qualified caregiving, limited to 12 times an individual's regular workweek hours during a benefit period); "Commissioner" (i.e., the Commissioner of Social Security); "Deputy Commissioner" (i.e., the head of the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave); "eligible individual" (i.e., an individual entitled to a benefit under section 4 upon application); and "national average wage index" (i.e., as defined in the Social Security Act). The section further defines "qualified caregiving" as any activity other than regular employment engaged in for a qualifying reason, including reasons described in paragraphs (1)(A), (B), or (E) of section 102(a) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) (i.e., birth or placement of a child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or care for a covered servicemember); care for a qualified family member (defined more broadly than under FMLA to include siblings and their spouses, grandparents and grandchildren and their spouses, and equivalent family relationships) with a serious health condition (as defined in FMLA); the individual's own serious health condition; or because the individual or qualified family member is a victim of family violence or a qualifying act of violence (to engage in specified activities such as seeking counseling, medical care, legal assistance, or school enrollment). (Thus, the definition expands FMLA-eligible reasons and family members and incorporates special rules for individuals covered by certain state paid leave programs.)
This section establishes within the Social Security Administration the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave, headed by a Deputy Commissioner appointed by the Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner is responsible for (1) hiring personnel; (2) issuing regulations; (3) entering cooperative agreements; (4) determining eligibility and benefit amounts and making timely payments under the program's insurance benefits; (5) maintaining records and preventing fraud; (6) providing information and annual notices to employers; (7) issuing annual public reports on benefit utilization by demographics; and (8) conducting targeted outreach to increase utilization. The section also requires the Commissioner to provide necessary SSA data to the Deputy Commissioner; directs good-faith data-sharing efforts with other federal agencies; and requires a report to Congress within 12 months of enactment on relevant federal databases (including any needed congressional action for access) and the feasibility of expediting benefit application reviews and payments.
This section establishes the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FMLI) program, which entitles eligible individuals engaged (or anticipating engagement) in qualified caregiving to prorated monthly benefits for each month in a specified benefit period. Eligibility requires (1) filing an application; (2) caregiving engagement during the 90 days before through 30 days after filing; (3) wages or self-employment income anytime from the most recent complete calendar quarter ending at least four months before the benefit period through the prior month; and (4) at least $2,000 of such income (indexed annually after 2026) over the most recent complete eight-calendar-quarter period ending at least four months before the benefit period. The monthly benefit equals the greater of the minimum benefit amount or the lesser of the monthly benefit rate or maximum benefit amount, prorated by caregiving hours divided by regular workweek hours times workweeks in the month (with fewer than four caregiving hours treated as zero). The monthly benefit rate applies 85% to average monthly earnings (highest-earning year of prior three) up to $1,257, 69% from $1,257 to $3,500, and 50% from $3,500 to $6,200 (all indexed annually after 2026); the initial maximum and minimum monthly benefits are $4,000 and $580, respectively (both indexed annually thereafter). Benefits are reduced by certain other benefits received, as determined by regulations of the Commissioner.
This section establishes a grant program under which, beginning in calendar year 2027, the Commissioner provides payments to each qualifying legacy State (i.e., a state that enacted a paid family and medical leave law by the date of enactment, certifies intent to continue meeting requirements through the first calendar year at least three years after enactment, and thereafter maintains a state program providing at least 12 full workweeks of comprehensive paid leave benefits during each 12-month period at a wage replacement rate equivalent to the federal program under section 4) equal to the lesser of (1) the estimated cost of federal comprehensive paid leave benefits under section 4 that would have been paid to individuals who received state benefits in the prior year (including up to 7% for federal administration costs) or (2) the actual cost of the state's prior-year benefits (including employer-provided benefits and up to 7% for state administration costs), provided the state meets data-sharing requirements on beneficiaries. The Commissioner may make estimated payments during a year for the subsequent year's grant, with adjustments. Employer-provided benefits under qualifying state laws are treated as state benefits for purposes of this Act, with states authorized to distribute grant shares to employers; covered employment is defined as employment (or self-employment) eligible for benefits under such state laws. To qualify for grants, states must agree to share beneficiary data periodically, including names, identity information, payment dates and amounts, and related details.
This section directs the Commissioner, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, to prescribe regulations necessary to implement the Act, considering input from state paid family and medical leave insurance programs and a volunteer advisory body of not more than 15 individuals (including experts in the relevant subject matter and state program officials). Appointments to the advisory body are as follows: (1) five by the President; (2) three by the Senate majority leader; (3) two by the Senate minority leader; (4) three by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and (5) two by the House minority leader.
This section directs the Comptroller General to submit to Congress, as soon as practicable after calendar year 2026 and every five years thereafter, a report analyzing processing times for family and medical leave insurance benefits paid under section 4 during the covered period (calendar year 2026 for the initial report; the prior five calendar years for subsequent reports). The report must identify (1) total applications filed and average days from receipt to initial eligibility determination; (2) total requests for review of initial adverse eligibility determinations and average days from request to final determination; (3) total monthly benefit claim reports filed and average days from receipt to initial determination; (4) total requests for review of initial adverse claim report determinations and average days from request to final determination; (5) any excessive delays in those periods, including causes and correlations to claimant demographics, industry sector, or qualifying reason; and (6) any additional data needed from the application process to produce the report.