I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2515 

To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow leave to 

address domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their effects, 

and to include domestic partners under the Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 20, 2009 

Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, and Mrs. MALONEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and 

Government 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 to 

allow leave to address domestic violence, sexual assault, 

or stalking and their effects, and to include domestic 

partners under the Act, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Domestic Violence 

5 Leave Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE FOR DOMESTIC VIO2 LENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY FOR LEAVE.—Section 102(a)(1) (29 

4 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(F) In order to care for the family mem7 ber of the employee, if such family member is 

8 addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, or 

9 stalking and their effects. 

10 ‘‘(G) Because the employee is addressing 

11 domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

12 and their effects, the employee is unable to per13 form any of the functions of the position of 

14 such employee.’’. 

15 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 101 (29 U.S.C. 2611) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(20) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domes18 tic violence’ has the meaning given such term in sec19 tion 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 

20 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925), and includes dating vio21 lence, as such term is defined in such section. 

22 ‘‘(21) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as23 sault’ has the meaning given that term in section 

24 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 

25 (42 U.S.C. 13925). 


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1 ‘‘(22) STALKING.—The term ‘stalking’ has the 

2 meaning given such term in section 40002 of the Vi3 olence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

4 13925). 

5 ‘‘(23) ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEX6 UAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING AND THEIR EFFECTS.— 

7 The term ‘addressing domestic violence, sexual as8 sault, or stalking and their effects’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) seeking medical attention for or re10 covering from injuries caused by domestic vio11 lence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

12 ‘‘(B) seeking legal assistance or remedies, 

13 including communicating with the police or an 

14 attorney, or participating in any legal pro15 ceeding related to domestic violence, sexual as16 sault, or stalking; 

17 ‘‘(C) attending support groups for victims 

18 of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

19 ‘‘(D) obtaining psychological counseling re20 lated to experiences of domestic violence, sexual 

21 assault, or stalking; 

22 ‘‘(E) participating in safety planning and 

23 other actions to increase safety from future do24 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in25 cluding temporary or permanent relocation; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) participating in any other activity ne2 cessitated by domestic violence, sexual assault, 

3 or stalking which must be undertaken during 

4 hours of employment. 

5 ‘‘(24) FAMILY MEMBER.—The term ‘family 

6 member’, used with respect to a person, means an 

7 individual who is a spouse, domestic partner, parent, 

8 son or daughter (including an adult son or daugh9 ter) of that person.’’. 

10 (c) INTERMITTENT OR REDUCED LEAVE.—Section 

11 102(b) (29 U.S.C. 2612(b)) is amended by inserting be12 fore the last sentence: ‘‘Subject to subsection (e)(4) and 

13 103(g), leave under subparagraph (F) or (G) of subsection 

14 (a)(1) may be taken by an employee intermittently or on 

15 a reduced leave schedule.’’ 

16 (d) PAID LEAVE.—Section 102(d)(2)(B) (29 U.S.C. 

17 2612(d)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting at the end the fol18 lowing: ‘‘An eligible employee may elect to substitute any 

19 of the accrued paid vacation leave, personal leave, family 

20 leave, or medical or sick leave of the employee for leave 

21 provided under subparagraph (F) or (G) of subsection 

22 (a)(1) for any part of the 12-week period of such leave 

23 under such subsection, except that nothing in this title 

24 shall require an employer to provide paid sick leave or paid 


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1 medical leave in any situation in which such employer 

2 would not normally provide any such paid leave.’’ 

3 (e) NOTICE.—Section 102(e)(29 U.S.C. 2612(e)), by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) NOTICE FOR LEAVE DUE TO DOMESTIC VI6 OLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.—In any 

7 case in which the necessity for leave under subpara8 graph (F) or (G) of subsection (a)(1) is foreseeable 

9 based on a scheduled appointment or planned activ10 ity to address domestic violence, sexual assault, or 

11 stalking and their effects, the employee shall provide 

12 such notice to the employer as is reasonable and 

13 practicable.’’. 

14 (f) CERTIFICATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY.—Section 

15 103 (29 U.S.C. 2613) is amended— 

16 (1) in the title, by adding before the period the 

17 following: ‘‘; confidentiality’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION RELATED TO DOMESTIC VIO20 LENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining if an em22 ployee meets the requirements of subparagraph (F) 

23 or (G) of section 102(a)(1), the employer of an em24 ployee may require the employee to provide written 


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1 certification. Certification under this paragraph shall 

2 be sufficient if it includes— 

3 ‘‘(A) documentation of the domestic vio4 lence, sexual assault, or stalking, such as police 

5 or court records, or documentation of the do6 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking from 

7 a shelter worker, attorney, clergy, or medical or 

8 other professional from whom the employee or 

9 family member of the employee has sought as10 sistance in addressing domestic violence, sexual 

11 assault, or stalking and their effects; 

12 ‘‘(B) other corroborating evidence, such as 

13 a statement from any other individual with 

14 knowledge of the circumstances which provide 

15 the basis for the claim, or physical evidence of 

16 domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 

17 such as photographs, or torn or bloody clothes; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(C) at the election of the employee, where 

20 documentation described in subparagraph (A) 

21 and corroborating evidence described in sub22 paragraph (B) is not available, a written state23 ment describing the domestic violence, sexual 

24 assault, or stalking and their effects. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All evidence of do2 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking provided 

3 to an employer under this subsection, including an 

4 employee’s statement, any corroborating evidence, 

5 and the fact that an employee has requested leave 

6 for the purpose of addressing domestic violence, sex7 ual assault, or stalking and their effects, shall be re8 tained in the strictest confidence by the employer, 

9 except to the extent consented to by the employee 

10 where disclosure is necessary to— 

11 ‘‘(A) protect the safety of the employee or 

12 family member of the employee; or 

13 ‘‘(B) assist in documenting domestic vio14 lence, sexual assault, or stalking for a court or 

15 law enforcement agency.’’. 

16 (g) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

17 section 1(b) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 

18 (29 U.S.C. prec. 2601) is amended by striking the item 

19 relating to section 103 and inserting the following: 

‘‘103. Certification; confidentiality’’. 

20 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF SAME-SEX SPOUSES AND DOMESTIC 

21 PARTNERS. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

23 (1) INCLUSION OF SAME-SEX SPOUSES.—Sec24 tion 101(13) of the Family and Medical Leave Act 

25 of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(13)) is amended, by insertVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:12 May 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2515.IH H2515

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1 ing ‘‘, and, notwithstanding section 7 of title I, 

2 United States Code, includes a spouse of the same 

3 sex as the employee as determined under applicable 

4 State law’’ before the period. 

5 (2) INCLUSION CHILDREN OF A DOMESTIC

6 PARTNER.—Section 101(12) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

7 2611(12)) is amended by inserting ‘‘a child of an in8 dividual’s domestic partner,’’ after ‘‘a legal ward,’’. 

9 (3) INCLUSION DOMESTIC PARTNERS.—Section 

10 101 of such Act (as amended by section 2) is further 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(25) DOMESTIC PARTNER.—The term ‘domes13 tic partner’ means— 

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

15 partner of the employee under any domestic 

16 partner registry or civil union laws of the State 

17 or political subdivision of a State where the em18 ployee resides; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of an unmarried employee 

20 who resides in a State where a person cannot 

21 marry a person of the same sex under the laws 

22 of the State, a single, unmarried adult person 

23 of the same sex as the employee who is in a 

24 committed, intimate relationship with the em25 ployee, is not a domestic partner to any other 


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1 person, and who is designated to the employer 

2 by such employee as that employee’s domestic 

3 partner.’’. 

4 (b) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 102 of the Fam5 ily and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(C), by striking 

8 ‘‘spouse,’’ both places it appears and inserting 

9 ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(E), by striking spouse, 

11 and inserting ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘spouse,’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; 

14 (4) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘do15 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; 

16 (5) in subsection (e)(3), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

17 partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; 

18 (6) in subsection (f)— 

19 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

20 ‘‘OR DOMESTIC PARTNERS’’ after ‘‘SPOUSES’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a hus22 band and wife’’ and inserting ‘‘both spouses or 

23 both domestic partners’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘that 

2 husband and wife’’ and inserting ‘‘spouses or 

3 both domestic partners’’; and 

4 (D) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘the 

5 husband and wife’’ and inserting ‘‘both spouses 

6 or both domestic partners’’. 

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

8 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2613) is amend9 ed— 

10 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

11 partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’ 

12 (2) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by inserting ‘‘do13 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’ both places it ap14 pears; and 

15 (3) in subsection (b)(7), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

16 partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’. 

17 (d) EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS PROTECTION.— 

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

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

20 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting ‘‘do21 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; and 

22 (2) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by inserting ‘‘do23 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE FOR FEDERAL EMPLOY2 EES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXUAL AS3 SAULT, OR STALKING. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY FOR LEAVE.—Section 6382(a)(1) of 

5 title 5, United States Code is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(E) In order to care for the family member of 

8 the employee, if such family member is addressing 

9 domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and 

10 their effects. 

11 ‘‘(F) Because the employee is addressing do12 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their 

13 effects, the employee is unable to perform any of the 

14 functions of the position of such employee.’’. 

15 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 6381 of title 5, United 

16 States Code is amended— 

17 (1) at the end of paragraph (10), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’; 

19 (2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period 

20 and inserting a semicolon; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(12) the terms ‘domestic violence’, ‘sexual as23 sault’, and ‘stalking’ all have the meaning given such 

24 terms in section 40002 of the Violence Against 

25 Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925), and the 


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1 term ‘domestic violence’ includes dating violence, as 

2 such term is defined in such section; 

3 ‘‘(13) the term ‘addressing domestic violence, 

4 sexual assault, or stalking and their effects’ 

5 means— 

6 ‘‘(A) seeking medical attention for or re7 covering from injuries caused by domestic vio8 lence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

9 ‘‘(B) seeking legal assistance or remedies, 

10 including communicating with the police or an 

11 attorney, or participating in any legal pro12 ceeding related to domestic violence, sexual as13 sault, or stalking; 

14 ‘‘(C) attending support groups for victims 

15 of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

16 ‘‘(D) obtaining psychological counseling re17 lated to experiences of domestic violence, sexual 

18 assault, or stalking; 

19 ‘‘(E) participating in safety planning and 

20 other actions to increase safety from future do21 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in22 cluding temporary or permanent relocation; and 

23 ‘‘(F) participating in any other activity ne24 cessitated by domestic violence, sexual assault, 


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1 or stalking which must be undertaken during 

2 hours of employment; 

3 ‘‘(14) the term ‘family member’, used with re4 spect to a person, means an individual who is a 

5 spouse, domestic partner, parent, son or daughter 

6 (including an adult son or daughter) of that per7 son;’’. 

8 (c) INTERMITTENT OR REDUCED LEAVE.—Section 

9 6382(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by add10 ing at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) Leave under subparagraph (E) or (F) of 

12 subsection (a)(1) may be taken by an employee 

13 intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule. The 

14 taking of leave intermittently or on a reduced leave 

15 schedule pursuant to this paragraph shall not result 

16 in a reduction in the total amount of leave to which 

17 the employee is entitled under subsection (a) beyond 

18 the amount of leave actually taken.’’. 

19 (d) OTHER LEAVE.—Section 6382(d) of title 5, 

20 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘(C), or (D)’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘(C), (D), (E), or (F)’’. 

22 (e) NOTICE.—Section 6282(e) of title 5, United 

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(3) In any case in which the necessity for 

2 leave under subparagraph (F) or (G) of subsection 

3 (a)(1) is foreseeable based on a scheduled appoint4 ment or planned activity to address domestic vio5 lence, sexual assault, or stalking and their effects, 

6 the employee shall provide such notice to the em7 ploying agency as is reasonable and practicable.’’. 

8 (f) CERTIFICATION.—Section 6383 of title 5, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(f) In determining if an employee meets the require12 ments of subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 6382(a)(1), 

13 the employing agency of an employee may require the em14 ployee to provide written certification. Certification under 

15 this subsection shall be sufficient if it includes— 

16 ‘‘(1) documentation of the domestic violence, 

17 sexual assault, or stalking, such as police or court 

18 records, or documentation of the domestic violence, 

19 sexual assault, or stalking from a shelter worker, at20 torney, clergy, or medical or other professional from 

21 whom the employee or family member of the em22 ployee has sought assistance in addressing domestic 

23 violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their effects; 

24 ‘‘(2) other corroborating evidence, such as a 

25 statement from any other individual with knowledge 


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1 of the circumstances which provide the basis for the 

2 claim, or physical evidence of domestic violence, sex3 ual assault, or stalking, such as photographs or torn 

4 or bloody clothes; or 

5 ‘‘(3) at the election of the employee, where doc6 umentation described in paragraph (1) and corrobo7 rating evidence described in paragraph (2) is not 

8 available, a written statement describing the domes9 tic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their ef10 fects.’’. 

11 (g) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Section 6383 of title 5, 

12 United States Code, as amended by subsection (f), is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in the section heading, by adding before the 

15 period the following: ‘‘; confidentiality’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(g) All evidence of domestic violence, sexual assault, 

18 or stalking provided to an employing agency under this 

19 subsection, including an employee’s statement, any cor20 roborating evidence, and the fact that an employee has 

21 requested leave for the purpose of addressing domestic vio22 lence, sexual assault, or stalking and their effects, shall 

23 be retained in the strictest confidence by the employing 

24 agency, except to the extent consented to by the employee 

25 where disclosure is necessary to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) protect the safety of the employee or fam2 ily member of the employee; or 

3 ‘‘(2) assist in documenting domestic violence, 

4 sexual assault, or stalking for a court or law enforce5 ment agency.’’. 

6 (h) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

7 chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

8 striking the item relating to section 6383 and inserting 

9 the following: 

‘‘6383. Certification; confidentiality’’. 

10 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF SAME-SEX SPOUSES AND DOMESTIC 

11 PARTNERS FOR LEAVE FOR FEDERAL EM12 PLOYEES. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 6381 of title 5, United 

14 States Code, as amended by section 4, is further amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘a child of 

17 an individual’s domestic partner,’’ after ‘‘a legal 

18 ward,’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(15) the term ‘spouse’ means a husband or 

21 wife, as the case may be, and, notwithstanding sec22 tion 7 of title I, United States Code, includes a 

23 spouse of the same sex as the employee as deter24 mined under applicable State law; and 

25 ‘‘(16) the term ‘domestic partner’ means— 


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

2 partner of the employee under any domestic 

3 partner registry or civil union laws of the State 

4 or political subdivision of a State where the em5 ployee resides; or 

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of an unmarried employee 

7 who resides in a State where a person cannot 

8 marry a person of the same sex under the laws 

9 of the State, a single, unmarried adult person 

10 of the same sex as the employee who is in a 

11 committed, intimate relationship with the em12 ployee, is not a domestic partner to any other 

13 person, and who is designated to the employing 

14 agency by such employee as that employee’s do15 mestic partner.’’. 

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

17 United States Code, is further amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(C), by striking 

19 ‘‘spouse,’’ both places it appears and inserting 

20 ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘spouse,’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; and 

23 (3) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘do24 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’. 


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

2 States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

4 partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; and 

5 (2) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by inserting ‘‘do6 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’ both places it ap7 pears. 

Æ 


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