I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5456 

To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and title 5, United 

States Code, to permit leave to care for a domestic partner, parentin-law, or adult child, or another related individual, who has a serious 

health condition, and to allow employees to take, as additional leave, 

parental involvement and family wellness leave to participate in or attend 

their children’s and grandchildren’s educational and extracurricular activities or meet family care needs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition 

to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, and House Administration, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and 

title 5, United States Code, to permit leave to care 

for a domestic partner, parent-in-law, or adult child, 

or another related individual, who has a serious health 

condition, and to allow employees to take, as additional 

leave, parental involvement and family wellness leave to 

participate in or attend their children’s and grandchildren’s educational and extracurricular activities or 

meet family care needs. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Family Medical Leave 

5 Modernization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LEAVE TO CARE FOR A DOMESTIC PARTNER, SON7 IN-LAW, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, PARENT-IN-LAW, 

8 ADULT CHILD, GRANDPARENT, GRANDCHILD, 

9 OR SIBLING OF THE EMPLOYEE, OR AN10 OTHER RELATED INDIVIDUAL. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

12 (1) INCLUSION OF RELATED INDIVIDUALS.— 

13 Section 101 of such Act is further amended by add14 ing at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(20) ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL RELATED BY

16 BLOOD OR AFFINITY WHOSE CLOSE ASSOCIATION IS

17 THE EQUIVALENT OF A FAMILY RELATIONSHIP.— 

18 The term ‘any other individual related by blood or 

19 affinity whose close association is the equivalent of 

20 a family relationship’, used with respect to an em21 ployee, means any person with whom the employee 

22 has a significant personal bond that is or is like a 

23 family relationship, regardless of biological or legal 

24 relationship. 


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1 ‘‘(21) DOMESTIC PARTNER.—The term ‘domes2 tic partner’, used with respect to an employee, 

3 means— 

4 ‘‘(A) the person recognized as the domestic 

5 partner of the employee under any domestic 

6 partnership or civil union law of a State or po7 litical subdivision of a State; or 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of an unmarried em9 ployee, an unmarried adult person who is in a 

10 committed, personal relationship with the em11 ployee, is not a domestic partner as described 

12 in subparagraph (A) to or in such a relation13 ship with any other person, and who is des14 ignated to the employer by such employee as 

15 that employee’s domestic partner. 

16 ‘‘(22) GRANDCHILD.—The term ‘grandchild’ 

17 means the son or daughter of an employee’s son or 

18 daughter. 

19 ‘‘(23) GRANDPARENT.—The term ‘grandparent’ 

20 means a parent of a parent of an employee. 

21 ‘‘(24) NEPHEW; NIECE.—The terms ‘nephew’ 

22 and ‘niece’, used with respect to an employee, mean 

23 a son or daughter of the employee’s sibling. 


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1 ‘‘(25) PARENT-IN-LAW.—The term ‘parent-in2 law’ means a parent of the spouse or domestic part3 ner of an employee. 

4 ‘‘(26) SIBLING.—The term ‘sibling’ means any 

5 person who is a son or daughter of an employee’s 

6 parent (other than the employee). 

7 ‘‘(27) SON-IN-LAW; DAUGHTER-IN-LAW.—The 

8 terms ‘son-in-law’ and ‘daughter-in-law’, used with 

9 respect to an employee, mean any person who is a 

10 spouse or domestic partner of a son or daughter, as 

11 the case may be, of the employee. 

12 ‘‘(28) UNCLE; AUNT.—The terms ‘uncle’ and 

13 ‘aunt’, used with respect to an employee, mean the 

14 son or daughter, as the case may be, of the employ15 ee’s grandparent (other than the employee’s par16 ent).’’. 

17 (2) INCLUSION OF ADULT CHILDREN AND CHIL18 DREN OF A DOMESTIC PARTNER.—Section 101(12) 

19 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2611(12)) is amended— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘a child of an individual’s 

21 domestic partner,’’ after ‘‘a legal ward,’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘who is—’’ and all that 

23 follows and inserting ‘‘and includes an adult 

24 child.’’. 


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1 (b) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 102 of the Fam2 ily and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

7 ‘‘spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of 

8 the employee, if such spouse, son, daugh9 ter, or parent’’ and inserting ‘‘spouse or 

10 domestic partner, or a son or daughter, 

11 son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent, par12 ent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sib13 ling, uncle or aunt, or nephew or niece of 

14 the employee, or any other individual re15 lated by blood or affinity whose close asso16 ciation is the equivalent of a family rela17 tionship with the employee, if such spouse, 

18 domestic partner, son or daughter, son-in19 law, daughter-in-law, parent, parent-in-law, 

20 grandparent, grandchild, sibling, uncle or 

21 aunt, or nephew or niece, or such other in22 dividual’’; and 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

24 ‘‘spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of 

25 the employee’’ and inserting ‘‘spouse or doVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5456.IH H5456

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1 mestic partner, or a son or daughter, son2 in-law, daughter-in-law, parent, parent-in3 law, grandchild, sibling, uncle or aunt, or 

4 nephew or niece of the employee, or any 

5 other individual related by blood or affinity 

6 whose close association is the equivalent of 

7 a family relationship with the employee’’; 

8 and 

9 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘spouse, 

10 son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a cov11 ered servicemember’’ and inserting ‘‘spouse or 

12 domestic partner, son or daughter, son-in-law, 

13 daughter-in-law, parent, parent-in-law, grand14 parent, sibling, uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, 

15 or next of kin of a covered servicemember, or 

16 any other individual related by blood or affinity 

17 whose close association is the equivalent of a 

18 family relationship with the covered service19 member’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (e)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘son, 

22 daughter, spouse, parent, or covered service23 member of the employee, as appropriate’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘son or daughter, son-in-law, daugh25 ter-in-law, spouse or domestic partner, parent, 


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1 parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, 

2 uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, or covered serv3 icemember of the employee, or any other indi4 vidual related by blood or affinity whose close 

5 association is the equivalent of a family rela6 tionship with the employee, as appropriate’’; 

7 and 

8 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘spouse, 

9 or a son, daughter, or parent, of the employee’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘spouse or domestic partner, or a 

11 son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 

12 parent, parent-in-law, grandchild, sibling, uncle 

13 or aunt, or nephew or niece of the employee, or 

14 any other individual related by blood or affinity 

15 whose close association is the equivalent of a 

16 family relationship with the employee, as appro17 priate,’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (f)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (i) in the matter preceding subpara21 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘, or domestic 

22 partners,’’ after ‘‘husband and wife’’; and 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

24 ‘‘or parent-in-law’’ after ‘‘parent’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, or 

2 those domestic partners,’’ after ‘‘husband and 

3 wife’’ each place it appears. 

4 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 103 of the Family and 

5 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2613) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘son, daugh8 ter, spouse, or parent of the employee, or of the next 

9 of kin of an individual in the case of leave taken 

10 under such paragraph (3), as appropriate’’ and in11 serting ‘‘son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in12 law, spouse or domestic partner, parent, parent-in13 law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, uncle or aunt, 

14 or nephew or niece of the employee, or the next of 

15 kin of an individual, or any other individual related 

16 by blood or affinity whose close association is the 

17 equivalent of a family relationship with the em18 ployee, as appropriate’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘son, 

21 daughter, spouse, or parent and an estimate of 

22 the amount of time that such employee is need23 ed to care for the son, daughter, spouse, or par24 ent’’ and inserting ‘‘son or daughter, son-in25 law, daughter-in-law, spouse or domestic partVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5456.IH H5456

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1 ner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grand2 child, sibling, uncle or aunt, or nephew or niece 

3 of the employee, or any other individual related 

4 by blood or affinity whose close association is 

5 the equivalent of a family relationship with the 

6 employee, as appropriate, and an estimate of 

7 the amount of time that such employee is need8 ed to care for such son or daughter, son-in-law, 

9 daughter-in-law, spouse or domestic partner, 

10 parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, 

11 sibling, uncle or aunt, or nephew or niece, or 

12 such other individual’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘son, 

14 daughter, parent, or spouse who has a serious 

15 health condition, or will assist in their recov16 ery,’’ and inserting ‘‘son or daughter, son-in17 law, daughter-in-law, spouse or domestic part18 ner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grand19 child, sibling, uncle or aunt, or nephew or niece, 

20 with a serious health condition, of the employee, 

21 or an individual, with a serious health condi22 tion, who is any other individual related by 

23 blood or affinity whose close association is the 

24 equivalent of a family relationship with the emVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5456.IH H5456

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1 ployee, as appropriate, or will assist in the re2 covery,’’. 

3 (d) EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS PROTECTION.— 

4 Section 104(c)(3) of the Family and Medical Leave Act 

5 of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2614(c)(3)) is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘son, 

7 daughter, spouse, or parent of the employee, as ap8 propriate,’’ and inserting ‘‘son or daughter, son-in9 law, daughter-in-law, spouse or domestic partner, 

10 parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sib11 ling, uncle or aunt, or nephew or niece of the em12 ployee, or any other individual related by blood or 

13 affinity whose close association is the equivalent of 

14 a family relationship with the employee, as appro15 priate,’’; and 

16 (2) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking ‘‘son, 

17 daughter, spouse, or parent’’ and inserting ‘‘employ18 ee’s son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 

19 spouse or domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, 

20 grandparent, grandchild, sibling, uncle or aunt, or 

21 nephew or niece, or (with relation to the employee) 

22 any other individual related by blood or affinity 

23 whose close association is the equivalent of a family 

24 relationship, as appropriate,’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. LEAVE TO CARE FOR A DOMESTIC PARTNER, SON2 IN-LAW, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, PARENT-IN-LAW, 

3 ADULT CHILD, GRANDPARENT, GRANDCHILD, 

4 OR SIBLING OF THE EMPLOYEE, OR AN5 OTHER RELATED INDIVIDUAL FOR FEDERAL 

6 EMPLOYEES. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

8 (1) INCLUSION OF A DOMESTIC PARTNER, SON9 IN-LAW, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, PARENT-IN-LAW, ADULT

10 CHILD, GRANDPARENT, GRANDCHILD, OR SIBLING

11 OF THE EMPLOYEE, OR ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL RE12 LATED BY BLOOD OR AFFINITY.—Section 6381 of 

13 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (A) in paragraph (11) by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

15 and inserting a semicolon; 

16 (B) in paragraph (12), by striking the pe17 riod and inserting a semicolon; and 

18 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(13) the term ‘any other individual related by 

20 blood or affinity whose close association is the equiv21 alent of a family relationship’, used with respect to 

22 an employee, means any person with whom the em23 ployee has a significant personal bond that is or is 

24 like a family relationship, regardless of biological or 

25 legal relationship; 


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1 ‘‘(14) the term ‘domestic partner’, used with re2 spect to an employee, means— 

3 ‘‘(A) the person recognized as the domestic 

4 partner of the employee under any domestic 

5 partnership or civil union law of a State or po6 litical subdivision of a State; or 

7 ‘‘(B) in the case of an unmarried em8 ployee, an unmarried adult person who is in a 

9 committed, personal relationship with the em10 ployee, is not a domestic partner as described 

11 in subparagraph (A) or in such a relationship 

12 with any other person, and who is designated to 

13 the employing agency by such employee as that 

14 employee’s domestic partner; 

15 ‘‘(15) the term ‘grandchild’ means the son or 

16 daughter of an employee’s son or daughter; 

17 ‘‘(16) the term ‘grandparent’ means a parent of 

18 a parent of an employee; 

19 ‘‘(17) the terms ‘nephew’ and ‘niece’, used with 

20 respect to an employee, mean a son or daughter of 

21 the employee’s sibling; 

22 ‘‘(18) the term ‘parent-in-law’ means a parent 

23 of the spouse or domestic partner of an employee; 


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1 ‘‘(19) the term ‘sibling’ means any person who 

2 is a son or daughter of an employee’s parent (other 

3 than the employee); 

4 ‘‘(20) the terms ‘son-in-law’ and ‘daughter-in5 law’, used with respect to an employee, mean any 

6 person who is a spouse or domestic partner of a son 

7 or daughter, as the case may be, of the employee; 

8 ‘‘(21) the term ‘State’ has the same meaning 

9 given the term in section 3 of the Fair Labor Stand10 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203); and 

11 ‘‘(22) the terms ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’, used with 

12 respect to an employee, mean the son or daughter, 

13 as the case may be, of the employee’s grandparent 

14 (other than the employee’s parent).’’. 

15 (2) INCLUSION OF ADULT CHILDREN AND CHIL16 DREN OF A DOMESTIC PARTNER.—Section 6381(6) 

17 of such title is amended— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘a child of an individual’s 

19 domestic partner,’’ after ‘‘a legal ward,’’; and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘who is—’’ and all that 

21 follows and inserting ‘‘and includes an adult 

22 child’’. 

23 (b) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 6382 of title 5, 

24 United States Code, is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

3 ‘‘spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of 

4 the employee, if such spouse, son, daugh5 ter, or parent’’ and inserting ‘‘spouse or 

6 domestic partner, or a son or daughter, 

7 son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent, par8 ent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sib9 ling, uncle or aunt, or nephew or niece of 

10 the employee, or any other individual re11 lated by blood or affinity whose close asso12 ciation with the employee is the equivalent 

13 of a family relationship, if such spouse, do14 mestic partner, son or daughter, son-in15 law, daughter-in-law, parent, parent-in-law, 

16 grandparent, grandchild, sibling, uncle or 

17 aunt, or nephew or niece, or such other in18 dividual’’; and 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

20 ‘‘spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of 

21 the employee’’ and inserting ‘‘spouse or do22 mestic partner, or a son or daughter, son23 in-law, daughter-in-law, parent, parent-in24 law, grandchild, sibling, uncle or aunt, or 

25 nephew or niece of the employee, or any 


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1 other individual related by blood or affinity 

2 whose close association is the equivalent of 

3 a family relationship with the employee’’; 

4 and 

5 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘spouse, 

6 son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a cov7 ered servicemember’’ and inserting ‘‘spouse or 

8 domestic partner, son or daughter, son-in-law, 

9 daughter-in-law, parent, parent-in-law, grand10 parent, sibling, uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, 

11 or next of kin of a covered servicemember, or 

12 any other individual related by blood or affinity 

13 whose close association is the equivalent of a 

14 family relationship with the covered service15 member’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (e)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘son, 

18 daughter, spouse, parent, or covered service19 member of the employee, as appropriate’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘son or daughter, son-in-law, daugh21 ter-in-law, spouse or domestic partner, parent, 

22 parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, 

23 uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, or covered serv24 icemember of the employee, or any other indi25 vidual related by blood or affinity whose close 


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1 association is the equivalent of a family rela2 tionship with the employee, as appropriate’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘spouse, 

5 or a son, daughter, or parent, of the employee’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘spouse or domestic partner, or a 

7 son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 

8 parent, parent-in-law, grandchild, sibling, uncle 

9 or aunt, or nephew or niece of the employee, or 

10 any other individual related by blood or affinity 

11 whose close association is the equivalent of a 

12 family relationship with the employee, as appro13 priate,’’. 

14 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 6383 of title 5, United 

15 States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘son, daugh17 ter, spouse, or parent of the employee, as appro18 priate’’ and inserting ‘‘son or daughter, son-in-law, 

19 daughter-in-law, spouse or domestic partner, parent, 

20 parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, 

21 uncle or aunt, or nephew or niece of the employee, 

22 or any other individual related by blood or affinity 

23 whose close association is the equivalent of a family 

24 relationship with the employee, as appropriate’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by striking ‘‘son, 

2 daughter, spouse, or parent, and an estimate of the 

3 amount of time that such employee is needed to care 

4 for such son, daughter, spouse, or parent’’ and in5 serting ‘‘son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in6 law, spouse or domestic partner, parent, parent-in7 law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, uncle or aunt, 

8 or nephew or niece of the employee, or any other in9 dividual related by blood or affinity whose close as10 sociation is the equivalent of a family relationship 

11 with the employee, as appropriate, and an estimate 

12 of the amount of time that such employee is needed 

13 to care for such son or daughter, son-in-law, daugh14 ter-in-law, spouse or domestic partner, parent, par15 ent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, uncle or 

16 aunt, or nephew or niece, or such other individual’’. 

17 SEC. 4. ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL LEAVE UNDER THE 

18 FMLA FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND 

19 FAMILY WELLNESS. 

20 (a) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 102(a) of the 

21 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 

22 2612(a)), as amended by section 2(b), is further amend23 ed— 

24 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para25 graph (6); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(5) ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL LEAVE FOR

4 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND FAMILY

5 WELLNESS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

7 subparagraph (B) and section 103(g), an eligi8 ble employee shall be entitled to leave under 

9 this paragraph to— 

10 ‘‘(i) participate in or attend an activ11 ity that is sponsored by a school or com12 munity organization and relates to a pro13 gram of the school or organization that is 

14 attended by a son or daughter or a grand15 child of the employee; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) meet routine family medical care 

17 needs (including by attending medical and 

18 dental appointments of the employee or a 

19 son or daughter, spouse, or grandchild of 

20 the employee) or attend to the care needs 

21 of an elderly individual who is related to 

22 the employee through a relationship de23 scribed in section 102(a) (including by 

24 making visits to nursing homes or group 

25 homes). 


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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible em3 ployee shall be entitled to— 

4 ‘‘(I) not to exceed 4 hours of 

5 leave under this paragraph during any 

6 30-day period; and 

7 ‘‘(II) not to exceed 24 hours of 

8 leave under this paragraph during any 

9 12-month period described in para10 graph (4). 

11 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION RULE.—Leave 

12 under this paragraph shall be in addition 

13 to any leave provided under any other 

14 paragraph of this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this para16 graph: 

17 ‘‘(i) COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.— 

18 The term ‘community organization’ means 

19 a private nonprofit organization that is 

20 representative of a community or a signifi21 cant segment of a community and provides 

22 activities for individuals described in sec23 tion 101(12), such as a scouting or sports 

24 organization. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SCHOOL.—The term ‘school’ 

2 means an elementary school or secondary 

3 school (as such terms are defined in sec4 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Sec5 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 7801)), a Head Start program assisted 

7 under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 

8 et seq.), and a child care facility licensed 

9 under State law.’’. 

10 (b) SCHEDULE.—Section 102(b)(1) of such Act (29 

11 U.S.C. 2612(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after the third 

12 sentence the following new sentence: ‘‘Subject to sub13 section (e)(4) and section 103(g), leave under subsection 

14 (a)(5) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave 

15 schedule.’’. 

16 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section 

17 102(d)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2612(d)(2)) is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(C) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LEAVE AND

20 FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.— 

21 ‘‘(i) VACATION LEAVE; PERSONAL

22 LEAVE; FAMILY LEAVE.—An eligible em23 ployee may elect, or an employer may re24 quire the employee, to substitute any of 

25 the accrued paid vacation leave, personal 


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1 leave, or family leave of the employee for 

2 any part of the period of leave under sub3 section (a)(5). 

4 ‘‘(ii) MEDICAL OR SICK LEAVE.—An 

5 eligible employee may elect, or an employer 

6 may require the employee, to substitute 

7 any of the accrued paid medical or sick 

8 leave of the employee for any part of the 

9 period of leave provided under clause (ii) of 

10 subsection (a)(5)(A), except that nothing 

11 in this title shall require an employer to 

12 provide paid sick leave or paid medical 

13 leave in any situation in which such em14 ployer would not normally provide any 

15 such paid leave. 

16 ‘‘(iii) PROHIBITION ON RESTRICTIONS

17 AND LIMITATIONS.—If the employee elects 

18 or the employer requires the substitution 

19 of accrued paid leave for leave under sub20 section (a)(5), the employer shall not re21 strict or limit the leave that may be sub22 stituted or impose any additional terms 

23 and conditions on the substitution of such 

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1 ployee than the terms and conditions set 

2 forth in this Act.’’. 

3 (d) NOTICE.—Section 102(e) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

4 2612(e)), as amended by section 2(b), is further amended 

5 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(4) NOTICE RELATING TO PARENTAL IN7 VOLVEMENT AND FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.—In 

8 any case in which an employee requests leave under 

9 paragraph (5) of subsection (a), the employee 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) provide the employer with not less 

12 than 7 days’ notice, or (if such notice is imprac13 ticable) such notice as is practicable, before the 

14 date the leave is to begin, of the employee’s in15 tention to take leave under such paragraph; and 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of leave to be taken under 

17 subsection (a)(5)(A)(ii), make a reasonable ef18 fort to schedule the activity or care involved so 

19 as not to disrupt unduly the operations of the 

20 employer, subject to the approval of the health 

21 care provider involved (if any).’’. 

22 (e) CERTIFICATION.—Section 103 of such Act (29 

23 U.S.C. 2613) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION RELATED TO PARENTAL IN2 VOLVEMENT AND FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.—An em3 ployer may require that a request for leave under section 

4 102(a)(5) be supported by a certification issued at such 

5 time and in such manner as the Secretary may by regula6 tion prescribe.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. ENTITLEMENT OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO LEAVE 

8 FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND FAMILY 

9 WELLNESS. 

10 (a) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 6382(a) of title 

11 5, United States Code, as amended by section 3(b), is fur12 ther amended by adding at the end the following new para13 graph: 

14 ‘‘(5)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B) and section 

15 6383(f), an employee shall be entitled to leave under this 

16 paragraph to— 

17 ‘‘(i) participate in or attend an activity that is 

18 sponsored by a school or community organization 

19 and relates to a program of the school or organiza20 tion that is attended by a son or daughter or a 

21 grandchild of the employee; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) meet routine family medical care needs 

23 (including by attending medical and dental appoint24 ments of the employee or a son or daughter, spouse, 

25 or grandchild of the employee) or to attend to the 


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1 care needs of an elderly individual who is related to 

2 the employee through a relationship described in sec3 tion 6382(a) (including by making visits to nursing 

4 homes and group homes). 

5 ‘‘(B)(i) An employee is entitled to— 

6 ‘‘(I) not to exceed 4 hours of leave under this 

7 paragraph during any 30-day period; and 

8 ‘‘(II) not to exceed 24 hours of leave under this 

9 paragraph during any 12-month period described in 

10 paragraph (4). 

11 ‘‘(ii) Leave under this paragraph shall be in addition 

12 to any leave provided under any other paragraph of this 

13 subsection. 

14 ‘‘(C) For the purpose of this paragraph— 

15 ‘‘(i) the term ‘community organization’ means a 

16 private nonprofit organization that is representative 

17 of a community or a significant segment of a com18 munity and provides activities for individuals de19 scribed in section 6381(6), such as a scouting or 

20 sports organization; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘school’ means an elementary 

22 school or secondary school (as such terms are de23 fined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec24 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), a 

25 Head Start program assisted under the Head Start 


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1 Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), and a child care facil2 ity licensed under State law.’’. 

3 (b) SCHEDULE.—Section 6382(b)(1) of such title is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by inserting after the third sentence the fol6 lowing new sentence: ‘‘Subject to subsection (e)(4) 

7 and section 6383(f), leave under subsection (a)(5) 

8 may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave 

9 schedule.’’; and 

10 (2) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘involved,’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘involved (or, in the case of leave 

12 under subsection (a)(5), for purposes of the 30-day 

13 or 12-month period involved),’’. 

14 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section 

15 6382(d) of such title is amended— 

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection des17 ignation; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) An employee may elect, or an employer may re20 quire the employee, to substitute for any part of the period 

21 of leave under subsection (a)(5), any of the employee’s ac22 crued or accumulated annual or sick leave under sub23 chapter I. If the employee elects or the employer requires 

24 the substitution of that accrued or accumulated annual or 

25 sick leave for leave under subsection (a)(5), the employing 


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1 agency shall not restrict or limit the leave that may be 

2 substituted or impose any additional terms and conditions 

3 on the substitution of such leave that are more stringent 

4 for the employee than the terms and conditions set forth 

5 in this subchapter.’’. 

6 (d) NOTICE.—Section 6382(e) of such title, as 

7 amended by section 3(b)(2), is further amended by adding 

8 at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(4) In any case in which an employee requests leave 

10 under paragraph (5) of subsection (a), the employee 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) provide the employing agency with not less 

13 than 7 days’ notice, or (if such notice is impracti14 cable) such notice as is practicable, before the date 

15 the leave is to begin, of the employee’s intention to 

16 take leave under such paragraph; and 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of leave to be taken under sub18 section (a)(5)(A)(ii), make a reasonable effort to 

19 schedule the activity or care involved so as not to 

20 disrupt unduly the operations of the employing agen21 cy, subject to the approval of the health care pro22 vider involved (if any).’’. 


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1 (e) CERTIFICATION.—Section 6383(f) of such title is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(E) or (3) of’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(E), (3) or (5) of’’. 

Æ 


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