Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) Tuesday reintroduced the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act.
Currently, under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employees in the private sector can take up to 12 weeks of leave to care for a newborn or an ill family member without fear of losing their jobs, but that leave is unpaid. For federal employees, while parental leave is paid due to the passage of the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act in 2019, family and medical leave is unpaid.
If passed, the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act that benefit to paid leave including 12 weeks of family and medical leave.
The Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act will guarantee 12 weeks of paid family leave for federal employees in all instances covered by the FMLA. Specifically, the bill guarantees 12 weeks of paid leave in the following cases:
- In order to care for the spouse, child, or parent of the employee, if such spouse, child, or parent has a serious health condition;
- Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee’s position; and
- Because of any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, child, or parent of the employee is on covered active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty) in the Armed Forces.
“Right now, our laws are still forcing federal workers to make the impossible choice between caring for their families and keeping their jobs,” said Schatz. “Our bill will provide federal workers with 12 weeks of paid leave, giving them the time they need to take care of their own health and their loved ones.”
“As the representative of the district with the largest number of federal employees in the country, I am conscious of the tremendous amount of good it would do for our region to provide comprehensive paid family and medical leave to the federal workforce. But every district has federal workers, and the benefits of this legislation would be felt across the country,” said Beyer. “We were able to achieve a major expansion of paid parental leave for federal workers, but we still have more to do. This basic benefit for workers is even more crucial in the age of Covid, but the United States still lags the rest of the world in securing guaranteed paid leave for its full workforce. As we advance this bill, which I am very proud to note is bipartisan, I will continue to work with members of both parties in pursuit of guaranteed paid leave for all American workers.”
Employee Groups Endorse the Proposed Legislation
“AFGE applauds Senator Schatz and Representative Beyer for reintroducing the Comprehensive Paid Family Leave Act to deliver 12 weeks of paid family leave for federal workers,” said Everett Kelley, National President, American Federation of Government Employees. “No worker should have to choose between a paycheck and safely recovering from an illness or caring for a sick loved one. The federal government has implicitly acknowledged this fact by reimbursing federal contractors and grantees for the cost of providing paid family leave to their workers. Providing the same benefit to direct federal employees is not only the right thing to do, it will ultimately be more cost-efficient than replacing federal employees who leave for the private sector due to substandard benefits, taking with them expertise and institutional knowledge.”
“The paid family leave legislation introduced today by Sen. Schatz and Rep. Beyer would be life-changing for federal employees around the country,” said Tony Reardon, National President of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). “Time and again we hear from our members who are dealing with a long-term medical issue in their families that drain their sick and annual leave, causing them financial hardship and additional stress that only compounds the crisis. The Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act is exactly the kind of benefit that treats federal employees with respect and helps agencies recruit the next generation of public servants, which is why NTEU strongly supports this bill.”
The Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act is also supported by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NARFE), the National Association of Letter Carriers, the American Postal Workers Union, and the National Partnership for Women and Families.
The proposed bills have bipartisan cosponsorship from lawmakers including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA). Beyer’s House bill is cosponsored by House Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA).