I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5496 

To extend protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 

to part-time workers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 16, 2016 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. 

WILSON of Florida, Ms. LEE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 

SCOTT of Virginia, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce, 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 extend protections under the Family and Medical Leave 

Act of 1993 to part-time workers. 

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; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Family and Medical Leave Act Protections for Part-time 

6 Workers Act of 2016’’. 

7 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to a 2012 survey by Abt Associ2 ates commissioned by the Department of Labor, only 

3 59 percent of employees are eligible for leave under 

4 the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 

5 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). 

6 (2) The requirement that employees work 1,250 

7 hours for an employer in the previous year (roughly 

8 24 hours per week) to be eligible for job-protected 

9 unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave 

10 Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) excludes many 

11 part-time workers from the Act’s protections. 

12 (3) Low-wage workers are less likely than other 

13 workers to have access to job-protected leave under 

14 the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 

15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). 

16 (4) Part-time workers are more than three 

17 times as likely as full-time workers to hold low-wage 

18 jobs. 

19 (5) Low-wage jobs are often characterized by 

20 high turnover rates and significant variability in 

21 work hours, both of which make it difficult to meet 

22 the 1,250 hours requirement under the Family and 

23 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). 

24 (6) Two-thirds of part-time workers are women. 

25 Because women still shoulder a disproportionate 


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1 share of caregiving responsibilities, these workers 

2 are likely to also have a disproportionate need for 

3 job-protected, unpaid leave to fulfill these respon4 sibilities. 

5 (7) Some low-wage workers are working mul6 tiple jobs to make ends meet, but their eligibility for 

7 leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 

8 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) is determined by only 

9 by their work for a single employer. 

10 (8) The survey conducted for the Department 

11 of Labor in 2012 found that reducing the hours of 

12 service requirement to 780 hours would result in a 

13 nearly 4-percent increase in the percentage of em14 ployees who are eligible for leave under the Family 

15 and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et 

16 seq.). 

17 (9) Removing the requirement that employees 

18 work 1,250 hours in the previous year to qualify for 

19 coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 

20 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) will greatly expand 

21 access to unpaid leave for the most vulnerable work22 ers. 


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1 SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF HOURS OF SERVICE REQUIRE2 MENT FOR FMLA LEAVE. 

3 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 101(2)(A) of the Family 

4 and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(2)(A)) 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible em7 ployee’ means an employee who has been em8 ployed, either as a full-time or part-time em9 ployee, for at least 12 months by the employer 

10 with respect to whom leave is requested under 

11 section 102.’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

13 subsection (a) shall take effect beginning on the date that 

14 is one year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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