I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2465 

To allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can address their 

own health needs and the health needs of their families. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2021 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, 

Mrs. AXNE, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BERA, Mr. 

BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 

BOWMAN, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BROWN, Ms. 

BROWNLEY, Ms. BUSH, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Ms. 

CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. 

CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, 

Mr. COOPER, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. CROW, Mr. DANNY K. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. 

DEMINGS, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. 

HOULAHAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JONES, Mr. KAHELE, 

Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. 

KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LAMB, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAWSON of 

Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. LEVIN of 

Michigan, Mr. LIEU, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MALINOWSKI, 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY

of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. 

MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. NORCROSS, 

Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 

PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PORTER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. PRICE of North 

Carolina, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. ROSS, 

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

RYAN, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, 

Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. 

SCHRIER, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. 


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SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. 

TORRES of California, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. 

TRONE, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WATERS, 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. WILLIAMS of 

Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. YARMUTH, and Ms. SHERRILL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and Oversight and Reform, 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 allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they 

can address their own health needs and the health needs 

of their families. 

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 ‘‘Healthy Families Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress makes the following findings: 

7 (1) Working people need time to meet their own 

8 health care needs and to care for family members. 

9 The absence of paid sick time has forced working 

10 people to make untenable choices between needed in11 come and jobs on the one hand and caring for their 

12 own and their family’s health on the other. It is in 

13 the national interest to ensure that all working peoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2465.IH H2465

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1 ple can care for their own health and the health of 

2 their families while prospering at work. 

3 (2) Twenty-nine percent of the private sector 

4 workforce and 9 percent of the public sector work5 force lack paid sick time. Millions more theoretically 

6 have access to sick time, but have not been on the 

7 job long enough to use it. Millions more lack sick 

8 time they can use to care for a sick child or ill fam9 ily member. 

10 (3) Working people without paid sick days are 

11 more likely to go to work sick and delay or forgo 

12 needed health care. A 2016 study in the journal 

13 Health Affairs found that working adults without 

14 paid sick days are 3 times more likely to forgo med15 ical care for themselves, and 1.6 times more likely 

16 to forgo medical care for their family, compared to 

17 working adults with paid sick days. Lack of paid 

18 sick days is also a barrier to receiving annual health 

19 screenings and preventive care, according to a 2017 

20 study in the American Journal of Nursing. 

21 (4) Nearly 1 in 4 parents without paid sick 

22 time reports sending a sick child to school or child 

23 care because the parent has to go to work. When 

24 children go to school and child care sick, they risk 

25 their own health and that of other children, teachVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2465.IH H2465

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1 ers, and administrators. Research suggests that 

2 schools play a key role in transmitting contagious ill3 nesses like influenza. 

4 (5) A 2012 study published in the American 

5 Journal of Public Health found that a lack of work6 place policies like paid sick days contributed to an 

7 additional 5,000,000 cases of influenza-like illness 

8 during the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. 

9 (6) A National Bureau of Economic Research 

10 analysis examining influenza rates following the im11 plementation of comprehensive paid sick time laws 

12 in 7 major cities in the United States found that 

13 when workers gained access to paid sick time in 

14 those cities, the general influenza rate in the popu15 lation decreased by 5.5 to 6.5 percent. This analysis 

16 estimates that those laws helped prevent about 100 

17 influenza-like infections per week for every 100,000 

18 people. 

19 (7) Paid sick days contribute to more cost-effec20 tive use of health care resources. A 2011 study by 

21 the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found 

22 that a universal paid sick days policy would reduce 

23 preventable visits to the emergency room and result 

24 in cost savings of $1,100,000,000 per year, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2465.IH H2465

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1 ing $500,000,000 in savings for public health insur2 ance programs like Medicare and Medicaid. 

3 (8) The American Productivity Audit completed 

4 in 2003 found that lost productivity due to illness 

5 costs $226,000,000,000 ($308,000,000,000 in 2019 

6 dollars) annually, and that 71 percent of that cost 

7 stems from presenteeism—the practice of employees 

8 coming to work while ill. Studies in the Journal of 

9 Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the 

10 Journal of the American Medical Association show 

11 that presenteeism is a larger productivity drain than 

12 either absenteeism or short-term disability. 

13 (9) Working while sick also increases a worker’s 

14 probability of suffering an injury on the job. A 2012 

15 study published by the American Journal of Public 

16 Health found that workers with access to paid sick 

17 leave were 28 percent less likely than workers with18 out paid sick leave to suffer nonfatal occupational 

19 injuries. 

20 (10) Workers’ access to paid sick time varies 

21 dramatically by wage level, as demonstrated by the 

22 following: 

23 (A) For private sector workers— 

24 (i) for workers in the lowest quartile 

25 of earners, 55 percent lack paid sick time; 


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1 (ii) for workers in the next 2 quar2 tiles, 27 and 17 percent, respectively, lack 

3 paid sick time; and 

4 (iii) even for workers in the highest 

5 quartile, 10 percent lack paid sick time. 

6 (B) For public sector workers— 

7 (i) for workers in the lowest quartile 

8 of earners, 21 percent lack paid sick time; 

9 (ii) for workers in the next 2 quar10 tiles, 5 and 3 percent, respectively, lack 

11 paid sick time; and 

12 (iii) for workers in the highest quar13 tile, 5 percent lack paid sick time. 

14 (11) Workers’ access to paid sick days also var15 ies depending on their occupation and race. For ex16 ample, more than 80 percent of workers in food 

17 preparation and serving occupations lack access to 

18 paid sick days, compared to only 23 percent of work19 ers in management occupations. More than half of 

20 Latino workers and nearly half of Native American 

21 or Alaskan Native workers do not have access to 

22 paid sick days, compared to nearly 40 percent of 

23 White and Black workers. 

24 (12) According to the Centers for Disease Con25 trol and Prevention, more than 1 in 3 women and 


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1 more than 1 in 4 men in the United States report 

2 having experienced rape, physical abuse, or some 

3 form of unwanted sexual contact at some point in 

4 their lives. Women and men of color are even more 

5 likely to report being impacted by intimate partner 

6 violence. Too many people, and especially women, 

7 are forced to risk losing their jobs or critical income 

8 when they need to take time away from work to ad9 dress domestic-violence-related issues, such as ob10 taining a restraining order or finding housing, in 

11 order to avoid or prevent physical or sexual abuse. 

12 (13) Without paid sick time that can be used 

13 to address the effects of domestic violence, these vic14 tims are in grave danger of losing their jobs. In a 

2018 survey of domestic violence survivors, nearly 3 15 ⁄4

16 (73 percent) reported that financial problems forced 

17 them to remain with their abusers longer than they 

18 wanted or to return to their abusers after having 

19 left, and more than half (53 percent) said they lost 

20 a job because of the abuse. The loss of employment 

21 can be particularly devastating for victims of domes22 tic violence, who often need economic security to en23 sure safety. 

24 (14) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre25 vention has estimated that intimate partner violence 


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1 costs over $700,000,000 annually due to the victims’ 

2 lost productivity in employment. 

3 (15) A 2018 study published in the American 

4 Journal of Orthopsychiatry found that workers with5 out paid sick leave benefits have higher levels of psy6 chological distress and are 1.45 times more likely to 

7 report that their distress symptoms interfere ‘‘a lot’’ 

8 with their daily life activities. 

9 (16) Efforts to assist abused employees result 

10 in positive outcomes for employers as well as em11 ployees because employers can retain workers who 

12 might otherwise be compelled to leave. 

13 (17) Dozens of States, cities, and localities have 

14 or will soon have paid sick time laws in place and 

15 evidence shows that those laws are working well for 

16 workers, businesses, and the economy. 

17 (18) A 2009 study by the Center for Economic 

18 and Policy Research found that, of 22 countries with 

19 comparable economies, the United States was 1 of 

20 only 3 countries that did not provide any paid time 

21 off for workers with short-term illnesses. 

22 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

23 The purposes of this Act are— 

24 (1) to ensure that working people can address 

25 their own health needs and the health needs of their 


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1 families by requiring employers to permit employees 

2 to earn up to 56 hours of paid sick time including 

3 paid time for family care; 

4 (2) to diminish public and private health care 

5 costs by enabling workers to seek early and routine 

6 health care for themselves and their family members; 

7 (3) to assist employees who are, or whose fam8 ily members are, victims of domestic violence, sexual 

9 assault, or stalking, by providing the employees with 

10 paid time away from work to allow the victims to re11 ceive treatment and to take the necessary steps to 

12 ensure their protection; 

13 (4) to address the historical and persistent 

14 widespread pattern of employment discrimination on 

15 the basis of gender by both private and public sector 

16 employers; 

17 (5) to accomplish the purposes described in 

18 paragraphs (1) through (4) in a manner that is fea19 sible for employers; and 

20 (6) consistent with the provision of the 14th 

21 Amendment to the Constitution relating to equal 

22 protection of the laws, and pursuant to Congress’ 

23 power to enforce that provision under section 5 of 

24 that Amendment— 


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1 (A) to accomplish the purposes described 

2 in paragraphs (1) through (4) in a manner that 

3 minimizes the potential for employment dis4 crimination on the basis of sex by ensuring gen5 erally that paid sick time is available for eligible 

6 medical reasons on a gender-neutral basis; and 

7 (B) to promote the goal of equal employ8 ment opportunity for women and men. 

9 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means a biologi12 cal, foster, or adopted child, a stepchild, a child of 

13 a domestic partner, a legal ward, or a child of a per14 son standing in loco parentis, who is— 

15 (A) under 18 years of age; or 

16 (B) 18 years of age or older and incapable 

17 of self-care because of a mental or physical dis18 ability. 

19 (2) DOMESTIC PARTNER.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘domestic 

21 partner’’, with respect to an individual, means 

22 another individual with whom the individual is 

23 in a committed relationship. 

24 (B) COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP DE25 FINED.—The term ‘‘committed relationship’’ 


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1 means a relationship between 2 individuals, 

2 each at least 18 years of age, in which each in3 dividual is the other individual’s sole domestic 

4 partner and both individuals share responsi5 bility for a significant measure of each other’s 

6 common welfare. The term includes any such 

7 relationship between 2 individuals, including in8 dividuals of the same sex, that is granted legal 

9 recognition by a State or political subdivision of 

10 a State as a marriage or analogous relationship, 

11 including a civil union or domestic partnership. 

12 (3) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘domestic 

13 violence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

14 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 

15 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)), except that the ref16 erence in such section to the term ‘‘jurisdiction re17 ceiving grant monies’’ shall be deemed to mean the 

18 jurisdiction in which the victim lives or the jurisdic19 tion in which the employer involved is located. Such 

20 term also includes ‘‘dating violence’’, as that term is 

21 defined in such section. 

22 (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

23 an individual who is— 

24 (A)(i) an employee, as defined in section 

25 3(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 


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1 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)), who is not covered under 

2 subparagraph (E), including such an employee 

3 of the Library of Congress, except that a ref4 erence in such section to an employer shall be 

5 considered to be a reference to an employer de6 scribed in clauses (i)(I) and (ii) of paragraph 

7 (5)(A); or 

8 (ii) an employee of the Government Ac9 countability Office; 

10 (B) a State employee described in section 

11 304(a) of the Government Employee Rights Act 

12 of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); 

13 (C) a covered employee, as defined in sec14 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability 

15 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301), other than an ap16 plicant for employment; 

17 (D) a covered employee, as defined in sec18 tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; or 

19 (E) a Federal officer or employee covered 

20 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, 

21 United States Code. 

22 (5) EMPLOYER.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 

24 means a person who is— 


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1 (i)(I) a covered employer, as defined 

2 in subparagraph (B), who is not covered 

3 under subclause (V); 

4 (II) an entity employing a State em5 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 

6 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; 

7 (III) an employing office, as defined 

8 in section 101 of the Congressional Ac9 countability Act of 1995; 

10 (IV) an employing office, as defined in 

11 section 411(c) of title 3, United States 

12 Code; or 

13 (V) an employing agency covered 

14 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 

15 5, United States Code; and 

16 (ii) engaged in commerce (including 

17 government), or an industry or activity af18 fecting commerce (including government), 

19 as defined in subparagraph (B)(iii). 

20 (B) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—In subparagraph 

22 (A)(i)(I), the term ‘‘covered employer’’— 

23 (I) means any person engaged in 

24 commerce or in any industry or activ25 ity affecting commerce who employs 


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1 15 or more employees for each work2 ing day during each of 20 or more 

3 calendar workweeks in the current or 

4 preceding year; 

5 (II) means a smaller employer, as 

6 defined in subparagraph (C), to which 

7 the special rule in paragraph (3) of 

8 section 5(a) applies; 

9 (III) includes— 

10 (aa) any person who acts, 

11 directly or indirectly, in the inter12 est of an employer to any of the 

13 employees of such employer; and 

14 (bb) any successor in inter15 est of an employer; 

16 (IV) includes any ‘‘public agen17 cy’’, as defined in section 3(x) of the 

18 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

19 (29 U.S.C. 203(x)); and 

20 (V) includes the Government Ac21 countability Office and the Library of 

22 Congress. 

23 (ii) PUBLIC AGENCY.—For purposes 

24 of clause (i)(IV), a public agency shall be 

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1 merce or in an industry or activity affect2 ing commerce. 

3 (iii) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

4 this subparagraph: 

5 (I) COMMERCE.—The terms 

6 ‘‘commerce’’ and ‘‘industry or activity 

7 affecting commerce’’ mean any activ8 ity, business, or industry in commerce 

9 or in which a labor dispute would 

10 hinder or obstruct commerce or the 

11 free flow of commerce, and include 

12 ‘‘commerce’’ and any ‘‘industry affect13 ing commerce’’, as defined in para14 graphs (1) and (3) of section 501 of 

15 the Labor Management Relations Act, 

16 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (1) and (3)). 

17 (II) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘em18 ployee’’ has the same meaning given 

19 such term in section 3(e) of the Fair 

20 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

21 U.S.C. 203(e)). 

22 (III) PERSON.—The term ‘‘per23 son’’ has the same meaning given 

24 such term in section 3(a) of the Fair 


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1 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

2 U.S.C. 203(a)). 

3 (C) SMALLER EMPLOYER.—The term 

4 ‘‘smaller employer’’ means any person engaged 

5 in commerce or in any industry or activity af6 fecting commerce who employs fewer than 15 

7 employees for each working day during each of 

8 20 or more calendar workweeks in the pre9 ceding year. 

10 (D) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in 

11 this paragraph to an employer shall include a 

12 reference to any predecessor of such employer. 

13 (6) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em14 ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 

15 made available to employees by an employer, includ16 ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 

17 insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational bene18 fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene19 fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 

20 an employer or through an ‘‘employee benefit plan’’, 

21 as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retire22 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

23 1002(3)). 

24 (7) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

25 ‘‘health care provider’’ means a provider who— 


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1 (A)(i) is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy 

2 who is authorized to practice medicine or sur3 gery (as appropriate) by the State in which the 

4 doctor practices; or 

5 (ii) is any other person determined by the 

6 Secretary to be capable of providing health care 

7 services; and 

8 (B) is not employed by an employer for 

9 whom the provider issues certification under 

10 this Act. 

11 (8) PAID SICK TIME.—The term ‘‘paid sick 

12 time’’ means an increment of compensated leave that 

13 can be earned by an employee for use during an ab14 sence from employment for any of the reasons de15 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 

16 5(b). 

17 (9) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a bio18 logical, foster, or adoptive parent of an employee, a 

19 stepparent of an employee, parent-in-law, parent of 

20 a domestic partner, or a legal guardian or other per21 son who stood in loco parentis to an employee when 

22 the employee was a child. 

23 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

24 means the Secretary of Labor. 


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1 (11) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as2 sault’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

3 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 

4 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)). 

5 (12) SPOUSE.—The term ‘‘spouse’’, with re6 spect to an employee, has the meaning given such 

7 term by the marriage laws of the State in which the 

8 marriage was celebrated. 

9 (13) STALKING.—The term ‘‘stalking’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of the 

11 Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 

12 12291(a)). 

13 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean14 ing given the term in section 3 of the Fair Labor 

15 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

16 (15) UNPAID SICK TIME.—The term ‘‘unpaid 

17 sick time’’ means the leave earned and used in the 

18 same manner and under the same conditions as paid 

19 sick time for the purposes of this Act, except that 

20 no compensation shall be paid. 

21 (16) VICTIM SERVICES ORGANIZATION.—The 

22 term ‘‘victim services organization’’ means a non23 profit, nongovernmental organization that provides 

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1 cluding a rape crisis center, an organization carrying 

2 out a domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

3 prevention or treatment program, an organization 

4 operating a shelter or providing counseling services, 

5 or a legal services organization or other organization 

6 providing assistance through the legal process. 

7 SEC. 5. EARNED PAID SICK TIME. 

8 (a) EARNING OF PAID SICK TIME.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall provide 

10 each employee employed by the employer not less 

11 than 1 hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 

12 hours worked, to be used as described in subsection 

13 (b). An employer shall not be required to permit an 

14 employee to earn, under this section, more than 56 

15 hours of paid sick time in a year, unless the em16 ployer chooses to set a higher limit. 

17 (2) EXEMPT EMPLOYEES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (B), for purposes of this section, 

20 an employee who is exempt from overtime re21 quirements under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair 

22 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

23 213(a)(1)) shall be assumed to work 40 hours 

24 in each workweek. 


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1 (B) SHORTER NORMAL WORKWEEK.—If 

2 the normal workweek of such an employee is 

3 less than 40 hours, the employee shall earn 

4 paid sick time based upon that normal work5 week. 

6 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR SMALLER EMPLOY7 ERS.—A smaller employer may provide paid sick 

8 time as provided under paragraph (1) but if such 

9 smaller employer opts not to do so, the smaller em10 ployer shall provide not fewer than 56 hours of un11 paid sick time to each employee per year to be used 

12 for the same purposes and under the same condi13 tions as set out in this Act. The provision and earn14 ing of unpaid sick time shall be treated in all re15 spects the same as the provision and earning of paid 

16 sick time under this Act. References in this Act to 

17 paid sick time shall, with respect to smaller employ18 ers, be deemed to be references to unpaid sick time. 

19 (4) DATES FOR BEGINNING TO EARN PAID SICK

20 TIME AND USE.—Employees shall begin to earn paid 

21 sick time under this section at the commencement of 

22 their employment. An employee shall be entitled to 

23 use the earned paid sick time beginning on the 60th 

24 calendar day following commencement of the em25 ployee’s employment. After that 60th calendar day, 


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1 the employee may use the paid sick time as the time 

2 is earned. An employer may, at the discretion of the 

3 employer, loan paid sick time to an employee for use 

4 by such employee in advance of the employee earn5 ing such sick time as provided in this subsection and 

6 may permit use before the 60th day of employment. 

7 (5) CARRYOVER.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), paid sick time earned under 

10 this section shall carry over from 1 year to the 

11 next. 

12 (B) CONSTRUCTION.—This Act shall not 

13 be construed to require an employer to permit 

14 an employee to earn more than 56 hours of 

15 earned paid sick time at a given time. 

16 (6) EMPLOYERS WITH EXISTING POLICIES.— 

17 Any employer with a paid leave policy who makes 

18 available an amount of paid leave that is sufficient 

19 to meet the requirements of this section and that 

20 may be used for the same purposes and under the 

21 same conditions as the purposes and conditions out22 lined in subsection (b) shall not be required to per23 mit an employee to earn additional paid sick time 

24 under this section. 


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1 (7) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

2 shall be construed as requiring financial or other re3 imbursement to an employee from an employer upon 

4 the employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, 

5 or other separation from employment for earned 

6 paid sick time that has not been used. 

7 (8) REINSTATEMENT.—If an employee is sepa8 rated from employment with an employer and is re9 hired, within 12 months after that separation, by the 

10 same employer, the employer shall reinstate the em11 ployee’s previously earned paid sick time. The em12 ployee shall be entitled to use the earned paid sick 

13 time and earn additional paid sick time at the re14 commencement of employment with the employer. 

15 (9) PROHIBITION.—An employer may not re16 quire, as a condition of providing paid sick time 

17 under this Act, that the employee involved search for 

18 or find a replacement employee to cover the hours 

19 during which the employee is using paid sick time. 

20 (b) USES.—Paid sick time earned under this section 

21 may be used by an employee for any of the following: 

22 (1) An absence resulting from a physical or 

23 mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the 

24 employee. 


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1 (2) An absence resulting from obtaining profes2 sional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive med3 ical care, for the employee. 

4 (3) An absence for the purpose of caring for a 

5 child, a parent, a spouse, a domestic partner, or any 

6 other individual related by blood or affinity whose 

7 close association with the employee is the equivalent 

8 of a family relationship, who— 

9 (A) has any of the conditions or needs for 

10 diagnosis or care described in paragraph (1) or 

11 (2); 

12 (B) in the case of someone who is a child, 

13 is required to attend a school meeting or a 

14 meeting at a place where the child is receiving 

15 care necessitated by the child’s health condition 

16 or disability; or 

17 (C) is otherwise in need of care. 

18 (4) An absence resulting from domestic vio19 lence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the time is to— 

20 (A) seek medical attention for the em21 ployee or the employee’s child, parent, spouse, 

22 domestic partner, or an individual related to the 

23 employee as described in paragraph (3), to re24 cover from physical or psychological injury or 


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1 disability caused by domestic violence, sexual 

2 assault, or stalking; 

3 (B) obtain or assist a related person de4 scribed in paragraph (3) in obtaining services 

5 from a victim services organization; 

6 (C) obtain or assist a related person de7 scribed in paragraph (3) in obtaining psycho8 logical or other counseling; 

9 (D) seek relocation; or 

10 (E) take legal action, including preparing 

11 for or participating in any civil or criminal legal 

12 proceeding related to or resulting from domestic 

13 violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

14 (c) SCHEDULING.—An employee shall make a reason15 able effort to schedule a period of paid sick time under 

16 this Act in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the 

17 operations of the employer. 

18 (d) PROCEDURES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paid sick time shall be pro20 vided upon the oral or written request of an em21 ployee. Such request shall— 

22 (A) include the expected duration of the 

23 period of such time; 

24 (B) in a case in which the need for such 

25 period of time is foreseeable at least 7 days in 


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1 advance of such period, be provided at least 7 

2 days in advance of such period; and 

3 (C) otherwise, be provided as soon as prac4 ticable after the employee is aware of the need 

5 for such period. 

6 (2) CERTIFICATION IN GENERAL.— 

7 (A) PROVISION.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (C), an employer may require that a 

10 request for paid sick time under this sec11 tion for a purpose described in paragraph 

12 (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (b) be sup13 ported by a certification issued by the 

14 health care provider of the eligible em15 ployee or of an individual described in sub16 section (b)(3), as appropriate, if the period 

17 of such time covers more than 3 consecu18 tive workdays. 

19 (ii) TIMELINESS.—The employee shall 

20 provide a copy of such certification to the 

21 employer in a timely manner, not later 

22 than 30 days after the first day of the pe23 riod of time. The employer shall not delay 

24 the commencement of the period of time on 


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1 the basis that the employer has not yet re2 ceived the certification. 

3 (B) SUFFICIENT CERTIFICATION.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—A certification pro5 vided under subparagraph (A) shall be suf6 ficient if it states— 

7 (I) the date on which the period 

8 of time will be needed; 

9 (II) the probable duration of the 

10 period of time; 

11 (III) the appropriate medical 

12 facts within the knowledge of the 

13 health care provider regarding the 

14 condition involved, subject to clause 

15 (ii); and 

16 (IV)(aa) for purposes of paid sick 

17 time under subsection (b)(1), a state18 ment that absence from work is medi19 cally necessary; 

20 (bb) for purposes of such time 

21 under subsection (b)(2), the dates on 

22 which testing for a medical diagnosis 

23 or care is expected to be given and the 

24 duration of such testing or care; and 


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1 (cc) for purposes of such time 

2 under subsection (b)(3), in the case of 

3 time to care for someone who is not a 

4 child, a statement that care is needed 

5 for an individual described in such 

6 subsection, and an estimate of the 

7 amount of time that such care is 

8 needed for such individual. 

9 (ii) LIMITATION.—In issuing a certifi10 cation under subparagraph (A), a health 

11 care provider shall make reasonable efforts 

12 to limit the medical facts described in 

13 clause (i)(III) that are disclosed in the cer14 tification to the minimum necessary to es15 tablish a need for the employee to utilize 

16 paid sick time. 

17 (C) REGULATIONS.—Regulations pre18 scribed under section 14 shall specify the man19 ner in which an employee who does not have 

20 health insurance shall provide a certification for 

21 purposes of this paragraph. 

22 (D) CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLO23 SURE.— 

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1 strued to require a health care provider to 

2 disclose information in violation of section 

3 1177 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 1320d–6) or the regulations promulgated 

5 pursuant to section 264(c) of the Health 

6 Insurance Portability and Accountability 

7 Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note). 

8 (ii) HEALTH INFORMATION

9 RECORDS.—If an employer possesses 

10 health information about an employee or 

11 an employee’s child, parent, spouse, domes12 tic partner, or an individual related to the 

13 employee as described in subsection (b)(3), 

14 such information shall— 

15 (I) be maintained on a separate 

16 form and in a separate file from other 

17 personnel information; 

18 (II) be treated as a confidential 

19 medical record; and 

20 (III) not be disclosed except to 

21 the affected employee or with the per22 mission of the affected employee. 

23 (3) CERTIFICATION IN THE CASE OF DOMESTIC

24 VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employer may re2 quire that a request for paid sick time under 

3 this section for a purpose described in sub4 section (b)(4) be supported by any one of the 

5 following forms of documentation, but the em6 ployer may not specify the particular form of 

7 documentation to be provided: 

8 (i) A police report indicating that the 

9 employee, or a member of the employee’s 

10 family described in subsection (b)(4), was 

11 a victim of domestic violence, sexual as12 sault, or stalking. 

13 (ii) A court order protecting or sepa14 rating the employee or a member of the 

15 employee’s family described in subsection 

16 (b)(4) from the perpetrator of an act of 

17 domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalk18 ing, or other evidence from the court or 

19 prosecuting attorney that the employee or 

20 a member of the employee’s family de21 scribed in subsection (b)(4) has appeared 

22 in court or is scheduled to appear in court 

23 in a proceeding related to domestic vio24 lence, sexual assault, or stalking. 


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1 (iii) Other documentation signed by 

2 an employee or volunteer working for a vic3 tim services organization, an attorney, a 

4 police officer, a medical professional, a so5 cial worker, an antiviolence counselor, or a 

6 member of the clergy, affirming that the 

7 employee or a member of the employee’s 

8 family described in subsection (b)(4) is a 

9 victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, 

10 or stalking. 

11 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements 

12 of paragraph (2) shall apply to certifications 

13 under this paragraph, except that— 

14 (i) subclauses (III) and (IV) of sub15 paragraph (B)(i) and subparagraph (B)(ii) 

16 of such paragraph shall not apply; 

17 (ii) the certification shall state the 

18 reason that the leave is required with the 

19 facts to be disclosed limited to the min20 imum necessary to establish a need for the 

21 employee to be absent from work, and the 

22 employee shall not be required to explain 

23 the details of the domestic violence, sexual 

24 assault, or stalking involved; and 


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1 (iii) with respect to confidentiality 

2 under subparagraph (D) of such para3 graph, any information provided to the em4 ployer under this paragraph shall be con5 fidential, except to the extent that any dis6 closure of such information is— 

7 (I) requested or consented to in 

8 writing by the employee; or 

9 (II) otherwise required by appli10 cable Federal or State law. 

11 SEC. 6. NOTICE REQUIREMENT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each employer shall notify each 

13 employee and include in any employee handbook the infor14 mation described in paragraphs (1) through (4). Each em15 ployer shall post and keep posted a notice, to be prepared 

16 or approved in accordance with procedures specified in 

17 regulations prescribed under section 14, setting forth ex18 cerpts from, or summaries of, the pertinent provisions of 

19 this Act including— 

20 (1) information describing paid sick time avail21 able to employees under this Act; 

22 (2) information pertaining to the filing of an 

23 action under this Act; 


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1 (3) the details of the notice requirement for a 

2 foreseeable period of time under section 5(d)(1)(B); 

3 and 

4 (4) information that describes— 

5 (A) the protections that an employee has 

6 in exercising rights under this Act; and 

7 (B) how the employee can contact the Sec8 retary (or other appropriate authority as de9 scribed in section 8) if any of the rights are vio10 lated. 

11 (b) LOCATION.—The notice described under sub12 section (a) shall be posted— 

13 (1) in conspicuous places on the premises of the 

14 employer, where notices to employees (including ap15 plicants) are customarily posted; or 

16 (2) in employee handbooks. 

17 (c) VIOLATION; PENALTY.—Any employer who will18 fully violates the posting requirements of this section shall 

19 be subject to a civil fine in an amount not to exceed $100 

20 for each separate offense. 

21 SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

22 (a) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.— 

23 (1) EXERCISE OF RIGHTS.—It shall be unlawful 

24 for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny 


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1 the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right 

2 provided under this Act, including— 

3 (A) discharging or discriminating against 

4 (including retaliating against) any individual, 

5 including a job applicant, for exercising, or at6 tempting to exercise, any right provided under 

7 this Act; 

8 (B) using the taking of paid sick time or 

9 unpaid sick time under this Act as a negative 

10 factor in an employment action, such as hiring, 

11 promotion, reducing hours or number of shifts, 

12 or a disciplinary action; or 

13 (C) counting the paid sick time or unpaid 

14 sick time under a no-fault attendance policy or 

15 any other absence-control policy. 

16 (2) DISCRIMINATION.—It shall be unlawful for 

17 any employer to discharge or in any other manner 

18 discriminate against (including retaliating against) 

19 any individual, including a job applicant, for oppos20 ing any practice made unlawful by this Act. 

21 (b) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR INQUIR22 IES.—It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or 

23 in any other manner discriminate against (including retali24 ating against) any individual, including a job applicant, 

25 because such individual— 


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1 (1) has filed an action, or has instituted or 

2 caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or re3 lated to this Act; 

4 (2) has given, or is about to give, any informa5 tion in connection with any inquiry or proceeding re6 lating to any right provided under this Act; or 

7 (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any 

8 inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided 

9 under this Act. 

10 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

11 construed to state or imply that the scope of the activities 

12 prohibited by section 105 of the Family and Medical Leave 

13 Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2615) is less than the scope of 

14 the activities prohibited by this section. 

15 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection— 

18 (A) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an em19 ployee described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

20 section 4(4); and 

21 (B) the term ‘‘employer’’ means an em22 ployer described in subclause (I) or (II) of sec23 tion 4(5)(A)(i). 

24 (2) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance 

2 with the provisions of this Act, or any regula3 tion or order issued under this Act, the Sec4 retary shall have, subject to subparagraph (C), 

5 the investigative authority provided under sec6 tion 11(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

7 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)), with respect to em8 ployers, employees, and other individuals af9 fected. 

10 (B) OBLIGATION TO KEEP AND PRESERVE

11 RECORDS.—An employer shall make, keep, and 

12 preserve records pertaining to compliance with 

13 this Act in accordance with section 11(c) of the 

14 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

15 211(c)) and in accordance with regulations pre16 scribed by the Secretary. 

17 (C) REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS GENERALLY

18 LIMITED TO AN ANNUAL BASIS.—The Secretary 

19 shall not require, under the authority of this 

20 paragraph, an employer to submit to the Sec21 retary any books or records more than once 

22 during any 12-month period, unless the Sec23 retary has reasonable cause to believe there 

24 may exist a violation of this Act or any regula25 tion or order issued pursuant to this Act, or is 


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1 investigating a charge pursuant to paragraph 

2 (4). 

3 (D) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—For the pur4 poses of any investigation provided for in this 

5 paragraph, the Secretary shall have the sub6 poena authority provided for under section 9 of 

7 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

8 U.S.C. 209). 

9 (3) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEES OR INDIVID10 UALS.— 

11 (A) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to re12 cover the damages or equitable relief prescribed 

13 in subparagraph (B) may be maintained 

14 against any employer in any Federal or State 

15 court of competent jurisdiction by one or more 

16 employees or individuals or their representative 

17 for and on behalf of— 

18 (i) the employees or individuals; or 

19 (ii) the employees or individuals and 

20 others similarly situated. 

21 (B) LIABILITY.—Any employer who vio22 lates section 7 (including a violation relating to 

23 rights provided under section 5) shall be liable 

24 to any employee or individual affected— 

25 (i) for damages equal to— 


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1 (I) the amount of— 

2 (aa) any wages, salary, em3 ployment benefits, or other com4 pensation denied or lost by rea5 son of the violation; or 

6 (bb) in a case in which 

7 wages, salary, employment bene8 fits, or other compensation have 

9 not been denied or lost, any ac10 tual monetary losses sustained as 

11 a direct result of the violation up 

12 to a sum equal to 56 hours of 

13 wages or salary for the employee 

14 or individual; 

15 (II) the interest on the amount 

16 described in subclause (I) calculated 

17 at the prevailing rate; and 

18 (III) an additional amount as liq19 uidated damages; and 

20 (ii) for such equitable relief as may be 

21 appropriate, including employment, rein22 statement, and promotion. 

23 (C) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in an 

24 action under this paragraph shall, in addition to 

25 any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow a 


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1 reasonable attorney’s fee, reasonable expert wit2 ness fees, and other costs of the action to be 

3 paid by the defendant. 

4 (4) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.— 

5 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Sec6 retary shall receive, investigate, and attempt to 

7 resolve complaints of violations of section 7 (in8 cluding a violation relating to rights provided 

9 under section 5) in the same manner that the 

10 Secretary receives, investigates, and attempts to 

11 resolve complaints of violations of sections 6 

12 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

13 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 207). 

14 (B) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may 

15 bring an action in any court of competent juris16 diction to recover the damages described in 

17 paragraph (3)(B)(i). 

18 (C) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recov19 ered by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph 

20 (B) shall be held in a special deposit account 

21 and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, di22 rectly to each employee or individual affected. 

23 Any such sums not paid to an employee or indi24 vidual affected because of inability to do so 

25 within a period of 3 years shall be deposited 


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1 into the Treasury of the United States as mis2 cellaneous receipts. 

3 (5) LIMITATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), an action may be brought 

6 under paragraph (3), (4), or (6) not later than 

7 2 years after the date of the last event consti8 tuting the alleged violation for which the action 

9 is brought. 

10 (B) WILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the case of 

11 an action brought for a willful violation of sec12 tion 7 (including a willful violation relating to 

13 rights provided under section 5), such action 

14 may be brought not later than 3 years after of 

15 the last event constituting the alleged violation 

16 for which such action is brought. 

17 (C) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining 

18 when an action is commenced under paragraph 

19 (3), (4), or (6) for the purposes of this para20 graph, it shall be considered to be commenced 

21 on the date when the complaint is filed. 

22 (6) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY.— 

23 The district courts of the United States shall have 

24 jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an action brought 

25 by the Secretary— 


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1 (A) to restrain violations of section 7 (in2 cluding a violation relating to rights provided 

3 under section 5), including the restraint of any 

4 withholding of payment of wages, salary, em5 ployment benefits, or other compensation, plus 

6 interest, found by the court to be due to em7 ployees or individuals eligible under this Act; or 

8 (B) to award such other equitable relief as 

9 may be appropriate, including employment, re10 instatement, and promotion. 

11 (7) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—The Solicitor of 

12 Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary 

13 on any litigation brought under paragraph (4) or 

14 (6). 

15 (8) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

16 AND LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any 

17 other provision of this subsection, in the case of the 

18 Government Accountability Office and the Library of 

19 Congress, the authority of the Secretary of Labor 

20 under this subsection shall be exercised respectively 

21 by the Comptroller General of the United States and 

22 the Librarian of Congress. 

23 (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL AC24 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.—The powers, remedies, and 

25 procedures provided in the Congressional Accountability 


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1 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) to the Board (as de2 fined in section 101 of that Act (2 U.S.C. 1301)), or any 

3 person, alleging a violation of section 202(a)(1) of that 

4 Act (2 U.S.C. 1312(a)(1)) shall be the powers, remedies, 

5 and procedures this Act provides to that Board, or any 

6 person, alleging an unlawful employment practice in viola7 tion of this Act against an employee described in section 

8 4(4)(C). 

9 (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE

10 3, UNITED STATES CODE.—The powers, remedies, and 

11 procedures provided in chapter 5 of title 3, United States 

12 Code, to the President, the Merit Systems Protection 

13 Board, or any person, alleging a violation of section 

14 412(a)(1) of that title, shall be the powers, remedies, and 

15 procedures this Act provides to the President, that Board, 

16 or any person, respectively, alleging an unlawful employ17 ment practice in violation of this Act against an employee 

18 described in section 4(4)(D). 

19 (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF TITLE

20 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—The powers, remedies, and 

21 procedures provided in title 5, United States Code, to an 

22 employing agency, provided in chapter 12 of that title to 

23 the Merit Systems Protection Board, or provided in that 

24 title to any person, alleging a violation of chapter 63 of 

25 that title, shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures 


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1 this Act provides to that agency, that Board, or any per2 son, respectively, alleging an unlawful employment prac3 tice in violation of this Act against an employee described 

4 in section 4(4)(E). 

5 (e) REMEDIES FOR STATE EMPLOYEES.— 

6 (1) WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—A 

7 State’s receipt or use of Federal financial assistance 

8 for any program or activity of a State shall con9 stitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, under the 

10 11th Amendment to the Constitution or otherwise, 

11 to a suit brought by an employee of that program 

12 or activity under this Act for equitable, legal, or 

13 other relief authorized under this Act. 

14 (2) OFFICIAL CAPACITY.—An official of a State 

15 may be sued in the official capacity of the official by 

16 any employee who has complied with the procedures 

17 under subsection (a)(3), for injunctive relief that is 

18 authorized under this Act. In such a suit the court 

19 may award to the prevailing party those costs au20 thorized by section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 

21 U.S.C. 1988). 

22 (3) APPLICABILITY.—With respect to a par23 ticular program or activity, paragraph (1) applies to 

24 conduct occurring on or after the day, after the date 

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1 ceives or uses Federal financial assistance for that 

2 program or activity. 

3 (4) DEFINITION OF PROGRAM OR ACTIVITY.—In 

4 this subsection, the term ‘‘program or activity’’ has 

5 the meaning given the term in section 606 of the 

6 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–4a). 

7 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR EDU8 CATION AND OUTREACH. 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec10 retary of Labor such sums as may be necessary in order 

11 that the Secretary may conduct a public awareness cam12 paign to educate and inform the public of the require13 ments for paid sick time required by this Act. 

14 SEC. 10. COLLECTION OF DATA ON PAID SICK TIME AND 

15 FURTHER STUDY. 

16 (a) COMPILATION OF INFORMATION.—The Commis17 sioner of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor 

18 shall annually compile information on the following: 

19 (1) The amount of paid and unpaid sick time 

20 available to employees by occupation and type of em21 ployment establishment. 

22 (2) An estimate of the average sick time used 

23 by employees according to occupation and the type 

24 of employment establishment. 


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1 (b) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 5 years after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

3 of the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate the 

4 implementation of this Act. Such study shall include an 

5 estimation of employees’ access to paid sick time, employ6 ees’ awareness of their rights under this Act, and employ7 ers’ experiences complying with this Act. Such study shall 

8 take into account access, awareness and experiences of 

9 employees by race, ethnicity, gender, and occupation. 

10 (c) REPORT.—Upon completion of the study required 

11 by subsection (b), the Comptroller General of the United 

12 States shall prepare and submit a report to the appro13 priate committees of Congress concerning the results of 

14 the study and the information compiled pursuant to sub15 section (a). 

16 SEC. 11. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

17 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE ANTIDISCRIMINATION

18 LAWS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify 

19 or affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimina20 tion on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, 

21 sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, 

22 marital status, familial status, or any other protected sta23 tus. 

24 (b) STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act 

25 shall be construed to supersede (including preempting) 


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1 any provision of any State or local law that provides great2 er paid sick time or leave rights (including greater 

3 amounts of paid sick time or leave or greater coverage of 

4 those eligible for paid sick time or leave) than the rights 

5 established under this Act. 

6 SEC. 12. EFFECT ON EXISTING EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. 

7 (a) MORE PROTECTIVE.—Nothing in this Act shall 

8 be construed to diminish the obligation of an employer to 

9 comply with any contract, collective bargaining agreement, 

10 or any employment benefit program or plan that provides 

11 greater paid sick leave or other leave rights to employees 

12 or individuals than the rights established under this Act. 

13 (b) LESS PROTECTIVE.—The rights established for 

14 employees under this Act shall not be diminished by any 

15 contract, collective bargaining agreement, or any employ16 ment benefit program or plan. 

17 SEC. 13. ENCOURAGEMENT OF MORE GENEROUS LEAVE 

18 POLICIES. 

19 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage 

20 employers from adopting or retaining leave policies more 

21 generous than policies that comply with the requirements 

22 of this Act. 

23 SEC. 14. REGULATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORITY.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), not later than 180 days after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe 

4 such regulations as are necessary to carry out this 

5 Act with respect to employees described in subpara6 graph (A) or (B) of section 4(4) and other individ7 uals affected by employers described in subclause (I) 

8 or (II) of section 4(5)(A)(i). 

9 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE; LI10 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—The Comptroller General of 

11 the United States and the Librarian of Congress 

12 shall prescribe the regulations with respect to em13 ployees of the Government Accountability Office and 

14 the Library of Congress, respectively, and other indi15 viduals affected by the Comptroller General of the 

16 United States and the Librarian of Congress, re17 spectively. 

18 (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL AC19 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.— 

20 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 90 days after 

21 the Secretary prescribes regulations under sub22 section (a), the Board of Directors of the Office of 

23 Compliance shall prescribe (in accordance with sec24 tion 304 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 

25 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1384)) such regulations as are necVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2465.IH H2465

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1 essary to carry out this Act with respect to employ2 ees described in section 4(4)(C) and other individ3 uals affected by employers described in section 

4 4(5)(A)(i)(III). 

5 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

6 prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the same as 

7 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec8 retary to carry out this Act except insofar as the 

9 Board may determine, for good cause shown and 

10 stated together with the regulations prescribed 

11 under paragraph (1), that a modification of such 

12 regulations would be more effective for the imple13 mentation of the rights and protections involved 

14 under this section. 

15 (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE

16 3, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

17 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 the Secretary prescribes regulations under sub19 section (a), the President (or the designee of the 

20 President) shall prescribe such regulations as are 

21 necessary to carry out this Act with respect to em22 ployees described in section 4(4)(D) and other indi23 viduals affected by employers described in section 

24 4(5)(A)(i)(IV). 


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1 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

2 prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the same as 

3 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec4 retary to carry out this Act except insofar as the 

5 President (or designee) may determine, for good 

6 cause shown and stated together with the regula7 tions prescribed under paragraph (1), that a modi8 fication of such regulations would be more effective 

9 for the implementation of the rights and protections 

10 involved under this section. 

11 (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF TITLE

12 5, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

13 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 90 days after 

14 the Secretary prescribes regulations under sub15 section (a), the Director of the Office of Personnel 

16 Management shall prescribe such regulations as are 

17 necessary to carry out this Act with respect to em18 ployees described in section 4(4)(E) and other indi19 viduals affected by employers described in section 

20 4(5)(A)(i)(V). 

21 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

22 prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the same as 

23 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec24 retary to carry out this Act except insofar as the Di25 rector may determine, for good cause shown and 


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1 stated together with the regulations prescribed 

2 under paragraph (1), that a modification of such 

3 regulations would be more effective for the imple4 mentation of the rights and protections involved 

5 under this section. 

6 SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

7 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect 6 

8 months after the date of issuance of regulations under sec9 tion 14(a)(1). 

10 (b) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—In the 

11 case of a collective bargaining agreement in effect on the 

12 effective date prescribed by subsection (a), this Act shall 

13 take effect on the earlier of— 

14 (1) the date of the termination of such agree15 ment; or 

16 (2) the date that occurs 18 months after the 

17 date of issuance of regulations under section 

18 14(a)(1). 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS