S. 3869 — Healthy Families Act

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act as follows: (1) child, regardless of age, as a biological, foster, or adopted child, stepchild, child of a domestic partner, legal ward, or child of a person standing in loco parentis; (2) commerce, meaning any activity, business, or industry in commerce or affecting commerce, as defined in specified provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947; (3) domestic partner, meaning another individual with whom the employee is in a committed relationship (i.e., each at least 18 years old is the other's sole domestic partner and they share responsibility for each other's common welfare), including legally recognized marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships (including same-sex); (4) domestic violence, as defined in the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)), applied to the jurisdiction where the victim lives or the employer is located; (5) employee, including employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (except those covered elsewhere), Government Accountability Office employees, certain railroad craft employees of rail carriers, state employees under the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, covered employees under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301) other than applicants for employment, executive branch covered employees, and federal employees under specified Family and Medical Leave Act provisions; (6) employer, including covered employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (i.e., persons with 1 or more employees for 20+ workweeks who engage in or affect commerce, plus GAO, Library of Congress, rail carriers, agents, successors, predecessors, and public agencies), entities employing Government Employee Rights Act state employees, employing offices under the Congressional Accountability Act, executive branch employing offices, and federal employing agencies engaged in commerce (including government); and (7) employment benefits, including group life, health, and disability insurance; sick, annual, and educational leave; and pensions, whether by policy or employee benefit plan.

This section requires employers to provide each employee with earned paid sick time at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours per year (with carryover from year to year permitted but no requirement to allow accrual beyond the annual cap). For employees exempt from overtime under FLSA section 13(a)(1) (i.e., bona fide executive, administrative, or professional employees), paid sick time accrues based on a deemed 40-hour workweek (or the employee's actual shorter normal workweek); earning begins at employment commencement, with use available after 60 calendar days (or earlier if the employer permits or loans time in advance). The section specifies permissible uses of paid sick time, including the employee's own physical or mental illness, injury, medical condition, or preventive care; care for a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or equivalent family member with similar needs (or for school/care meetings or supervision due to a caregiver's illness); and absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking for medical attention, victim services, counseling, relocation, or legal proceedings. Employees must make reasonable efforts to schedule use without unduly disrupting employer operations and may request it orally or in writing; employers with equivalent existing paid leave policies satisfying the same purposes, conditions, and procedures are exempt from providing additional time, must reinstate unused time for employees rehired within 12 months, need not pay out unused time upon separation, and may not require employees to find replacements.

This section requires each employer to notify employees and include in any employee handbook information on (1) paid sick time available under the Act, (2) filing an action under the Act, (3) notice requirements for foreseeable leave under section 3(d)(1)(B)(i), and (4) employee protections and how to contact the Secretary (or other authority under section 6) for violations. It further requires employers to post and maintain an approved notice summarizing these provisions in conspicuous locations where employee notices are customarily posted and in employee handbooks, with a civil fine of up to $100 per separate offense for willful violations of the posting requirement.

This section prohibits employer interference with, restraint of, denial of, or attempts to exercise rights under the Act—including (A) discharging, discriminating, or retaliating against any individual, including a job applicant; (B) using paid sick time as a negative factor in employment actions such as hiring, promotion, reducing hours or shifts, or discipline; or (C) counting paid sick time under no-fault attendance or other absence-control policies. It further prohibits employer discharge, discrimination, or retaliation against any individual, including a job applicant, for opposing unlawful practices under the Act or for filing an action, providing information, or testifying in any inquiry or proceeding relating to rights under the Act. Finally, the section states that these prohibitions do not imply a narrower scope than the activities prohibited by section 105 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2615).

This section establishes enforcement authority for violations of the Act's paid leave requirements (sections 3 and 5), including investigative powers, subpoena authority, and employer recordkeeping requirements for the Secretary of Labor modeled on the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a), (c); 209). It authorizes civil actions by affected employees (or representatives) against employers for damages—including lost wages, salary, benefits, or other compensation (or, if none lost, up to 56 hours of wages), interest, and liquidated damages—plus equitable relief (e.g., employment, reinstatement, promotion) and attorney’s fees, costs, and expert witness fees; permits the Secretary to investigate complaints and bring civil actions for such damages (with recoveries held in a special account and unclaimed amounts deposited into the Treasury after three years); and sets statutes of limitations of two years after the last violation (three years for willful violations). The section provides for district court injunctions against violations (including withholding of owed compensation) at the Secretary’s request, designates the Solicitor of Labor to represent the Secretary, and vests enforcement authority for the Government Accountability Office and Library of Congress respectively with the Comptroller General and Librarian of Congress.

This section authorizes the Secretary to conduct a public awareness campaign to educate the public on the paid sick time requirements of the Act and authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary for that purpose.

This section requires the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to annually compile and report to the Comptroller General information on (1) the amount of paid sick time available to employees by occupation and type of employment establishment, and (2) an estimate of the average sick time used by employees by occupation and type of employment establishment. It further directs the Comptroller General, not later than five years after enactment, to conduct a study evaluating implementation of the Act—including employees' access to paid sick time, awareness of rights under the Act, and employers' compliance experiences, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and occupation—and to submit a report on the study and data compiled under subsection (a) to the appropriate congressional committees. It also requires the Secretary, not later than three years after enactment, to report to Congress on any enforcement actions under section 6(a) against employers described in section 2(6)(B)(i)(IV) providing paid sick time to employees described in section 2(5)(A)(iii).

This section provides that nothing in the Act modifies or affects any federal or state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status, or any other protected status. The section further provides that nothing in the Act supersedes (including preempts) any state or local law providing greater paid sick time or leave rights (including greater amounts or broader eligibility) than those established under the Act.

This section provides that the Act does not diminish employer obligations under any contract, collective bargaining agreement, or employment benefit program or plan that offers greater paid sick leave or other leave rights than those established by the Act. The section further specifies that no such contract, agreement, or program or plan may diminish the leave rights established under the Act.

This section establishes regulatory authority to implement the Act for specified categories of employees and other affected individuals. Specifically, it (1) requires the Secretary to prescribe such regulations within 180 days for employees described in section 2(5)(A) or (B) and those affected by employers described in section 2(6)(A)(i)(I) or (II), with the Comptroller General and Librarian of Congress to do so separately for Government Accountability Office and Library of Congress employees, respectively; and (2) requires the Board of the Office of Compliance, the President (or designee), and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe substantially identical regulations within 90 days after the Secretary—for employees described in section 2(5)(C) (in accordance with 2 U.S.C. 1384), 2(5)(D), and 2(5)(E), respectively, and those affected by the corresponding employers in section 2(6)(A)(i)(III)–(V)—with modifications permitted only upon good cause shown.

This section establishes the effective date of the Act as 6 months after issuance of regulations under section 12(a)(1). For collective bargaining agreements in effect on that date, the Act takes effect on the earlier of (1) the agreement's termination, (2) any amendment to the agreement made on or after that date, or (3) 18 months after issuance of the regulations.