I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 824 

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

States Code, to allow employees to take, as additional leave, parental 

involvement leave to participate in or attend their children’s and grandchildren’s educational and extracurricular activities, and to clarify that 

leave may be taken for routine family medical needs and to assist 

elderly relatives, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2009 

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. ELLISON, 

Mr. FILNER, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Ms. NORTON) 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 and 

title 5, United States Code, to allow employees to take, 

as additional leave, parental involvement leave to participate in or attend their children’s and grandchildren’s 

educational and extracurricular activities, and to clarify 

that leave may be taken for routine family medical needs 

and to assist elderly relatives, and for other purposes. 


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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 and Medical 

5 Leave Enhancement Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE. 

7 Section 101(2)(B)(ii) of the Family and Medical 

8 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(2)(B)(ii)) is amended 

9 by striking ‘‘less than 50’’ each place it appears and in10 serting ‘‘fewer than 25’’. 

11 SEC. 3. ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL LEAVE UNDER THE 

12 FMLA FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND 

13 FAMILY WELLNESS. 

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

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

16 2612(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

17 new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(5) ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL LEAVE FOR

19 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND FAMILY

20 WELLNESS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (B) and section 103(g), an eligible em23 ployee shall be entitled to leave under this para24 graph to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) participate in or attend an activ2 ity that is sponsored by a school or com3 munity organization and relates to a pro4 gram of the school or organization that is 

5 attended by a son or daughter or a grand6 child of the employee; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) meet routine family medical care 

8 needs, including for medical and dental ap9 pointments of the employee or a son, 

10 daughter, spouse, or grandchild of the em11 ployee, or to attend to the care needs of el12 derly individuals who are related to the eli13 gible employee, including visits to nursing 

14 homes and group homes. 

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible em17 ployee is entitled to— 

18 ‘‘(I) not to exceed 4 hours of 

19 leave under this paragraph during any 

20 30-day period; and 

21 ‘‘(II) not to exceed 24 hours of 

22 leave under this paragraph during any 

23 12-month period. 

24 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION RULE.—Leave 

25 under this paragraph shall be in addition 


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1 to any leave provided under any other 

2 paragraph of this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this para4 graph: 

5 ‘‘(i) SCHOOL.—The term ‘school’ 

6 means an elementary school or secondary 

7 school (as such terms are defined in sec8 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Sec9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

10 7801)), a Head Start program assisted 

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

12 et seq.), or a child care facility. 

13 ‘‘(ii) COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.— 

14 The term ‘community organization’ means 

15 a private nonprofit organization that is 

16 representative of a community or a signifi17 cant segment of a community and provides 

18 activities for individuals described in sub19 paragraph (A) or (B) of section 101(12), 

20 such as a scouting or sports organiza21 tion.’’. 

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

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

24 sentence the following new sentence: ‘‘Leave under subVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:17 Feb 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H824.IH H824

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1 section (a)(5) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced 

2 leave schedule.’’. 

3 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section 

4 102(d)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2612(d)(2)) is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(C) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LEAVE AND

7 FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.—An eligible em8 ployee may elect, or an employer may require 

9 the employee, to substitute any of the accrued 

10 paid vacation leave, personal leave, or family 

11 leave of the employee for any leave under sub12 section (a)(5). In addition, an eligible employee 

13 may elect, or an employer may require the em14 ployee, to substitute any of the accrued paid 

15 medical or sick leave of the employee for leave 

16 provided under clause (ii) of subsection 

17 (a)(5)(A) for any part of the leave under such 

18 clause, except that nothing in this title shall re19 quire an employer to provide paid sick leave or 

20 paid medical leave in any situation in which 

21 such employer would not normally provide any 

22 such paid leave. If the employee elects or the 

23 employer requires the substitution of accrued 

24 paid leave for leave provided under subsection 

25 (a)(5)(A), the employer shall not restrict or 


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1 limit this substitution or impose any additional 

2 terms and conditions on such leave that are 

3 more stringent on the employee than the terms 

4 and conditions set forth in this Act.’’. 

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

6 2612(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

7 new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(4) NOTICE RELATING TO PARENTAL IN9 VOLVEMENT AND FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.—In 

10 any case in which an employee requests leave under 

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

12 shall— 

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

14 than 7 days’ notice or as much notice as is 

15 practicable before the date the leave is to be 

16 taken, of the employee’s intention to take leave 

17 under such paragraph; and 

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

19 subparagraph (A)(ii), make a reasonable effort 

20 to schedule the leave so as not to disrupt un21 duly the operations of the employer, subject to 

22 the approval of the health care provider in23 volved (if any).’’. 


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1 (f) CERTIFICATION.—Section 103 of such Act (29 

2 U.S.C. 2613) is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION RELATED TO PARENTAL IN5 VOLVEMENT AND FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.—An em6 ployer may require that a request for leave under section 

7 102(a)(5) be supported by a certification issued at such 

8 time and in such manner as the Secretary may by regula9 tion prescribe.’’. 

10 (g) DEFINITION OF GRANDCHILD.—Section 101 of 

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

12 2611) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(14) GRANDCHILD.—The term ‘grandchild’ 

15 means a son or daughter of an employee’s son or 

16 daughter.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. ENTITLEMENT OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO LEAVE 

18 FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND FAMILY 

19 WELLNESS. 

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

21 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(5)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B)(i) and section 

24 6383(f), an employee shall be entitled to leave under this 

25 paragraph to— 


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

2 sponsored by a school or community organization 

3 and relates to a program of the school or organiza4 tion that is attended by a son or daughter or a 

5 grandchild of the employee; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) meet routine family medical care needs, in7 cluding for medical and dental appointments of a 

8 son, daughter, spouse, or grandchild of the em9 ployee, or to attend to the care needs of elderly indi10 viduals who are related to the eligible employee, in11 cluding visits to nursing homes and group homes. 

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

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

14 paragraph during any 30-day period; and 

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

16 paragraph during any 12-month period. 

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

18 to any leave provided under any other paragraph of this 

19 subsection. 

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

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

22 school or secondary school (as such terms are de23 fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec24 ondary Education Act of 1965), a Head Start proVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:17 Feb 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H824.IH H824

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1 gram assisted under the Head Start Act, and a child 

2 care facility licensed under State law; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘community organization’ means 

4 a private nonprofit organization that is representa5 tive of a community or a significant segment of a 

6 community and provides activities for individuals de7 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 

8 6381(6), such as a scouting or sports organization.’’. 

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

10 amended— 

11 (1) by inserting after the second sentence the 

12 following new sentence: ‘‘Leave under subsection 

13 (a)(5) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced 

14 leave schedule.’’; and 

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

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

17 under subsection (a)(5), for purposes of any 30-day 

18 or 12-month period),’’. 

19 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section 

20 6382(d) of such title is amended— 

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection des22 ignation; and 

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

24 ‘‘(2) An employee may elect to substitute for leave 

25 under subsection (a)(5), any of the employee’s accrued or 


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1 accumulated annual or sick leave under subchapter I. If 

2 the employee elects to substitute accumulated annual or 

3 sick leave for leave provided under subsection (a)(5), the 

4 employing agency shall not restrict or limit this substi5 tution or impose any additional terms and conditions on 

6 such leave that are more stringent on the employee than 

7 the terms and conditions set forth in this subchapter.’’. 

8 (d) NOTICE.—Section 6382(e) of such title is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(3) In any case in which an employee requests leave 

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

12 shall— 

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

14 than 7 days’ notice, before the date the leave is to 

15 be taken, of the employee’s intention to take leave 

16 under such paragraph; and 

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

19 schedule the leave so as not to disrupt unduly the 

20 operations of the employer, subject to the approval 

21 of the health care provider involved (if any).’’. 

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

23 amended by striking ‘‘6382(a)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘para24 graph (3) or (5) of section 6382(a)’’. 


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1 (f) DEFINITION OF GRANDCHILD.—Section 6381 of 

2 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

4 end; 

5 (2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(12) the term ‘grandchild’ means a son or 

10 daughter of an employee’s son or daughter.’’. 

Æ 


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