I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3999 

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 5, 2014 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York 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 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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Family and Medical 

3 Leave Enhancement Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE. 

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

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

7 by striking ‘‘less than 50’’ each place it appears and in8 serting ‘‘fewer than 25’’. 

9 SEC. 3. ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL LEAVE UNDER THE 

10 FMLA FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND 

11 FAMILY WELLNESS. 

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

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

14 2612(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

15 new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(5) ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL LEAVE FOR

17 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND FAMILY

18 WELLNESS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara20 graph (B) and section 103(g), an eligible em21 ployee shall be entitled to leave under this para22 graph to— 

23 ‘‘(i) participate in or attend an activ24 ity that is sponsored by a school or com25 munity organization and relates to a pro26 gram of the school or organization that is 


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1 attended by a son or daughter or a grand2 child of the employee; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) meet routine family medical care 

4 needs, including for medical and dental ap5 pointments of the employee or a son, 

6 daughter, spouse, or grandchild of the em7 ployee, or to attend to the care needs of el8 derly individuals who are related to the eli9 gible employee, including visits to nursing 

10 homes and group homes. 

11 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible em13 ployee is entitled to— 

14 ‘‘(I) not to exceed 4 hours of 

15 leave under this paragraph during any 

16 30-day period; and 

17 ‘‘(II) not to exceed 24 hours of 

18 leave under this paragraph during any 

19 12-month period. 

20 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION RULE.—Leave 

21 under this paragraph shall be in addition 

22 to any leave provided under any other 

23 paragraph of this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this para25 graph: 


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1 ‘‘(i) SCHOOL.—The term ‘school’ 

2 means an elementary school or secondary 

3 school (as such terms are defined in sec4 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Sec5 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 7801)), a Head Start program assisted 

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

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

9 ‘‘(ii) COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.— 

10 The term ‘community organization’ means 

11 a private nonprofit organization that is 

12 representative of a community or a signifi13 cant segment of a community and provides 

14 activities for individuals described in sub15 paragraph (A) or (B) of section 101(12), 

16 such as a scouting or sports organiza17 tion.’’. 

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

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

20 sentence the following new sentence: ‘‘Leave under sub21 section (a)(5) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced 

22 leave schedule.’’. 

23 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section 

24 102(d)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2612(d)(2)) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(C) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LEAVE AND

2 FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.—An eligible em3 ployee may elect, or an employer may require 

4 the employee, to substitute any of the accrued 

5 paid vacation leave, personal leave, or family 

6 leave of the employee for any leave under sub7 section (a)(5). In addition, an eligible employee 

8 may elect, or an employer may require the em9 ployee, to substitute any of the accrued paid 

10 medical or sick leave of the employee for leave 

11 provided under clause (ii) of subsection 

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

13 clause, except that nothing in this title shall re14 quire an employer to provide paid sick leave or 

15 paid medical leave in any situation in which 

16 such employer would not normally provide any 

17 such paid leave. If the employee elects or the 

18 employer requires the substitution of accrued 

19 paid leave for leave provided under subsection 

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

21 limit this substitution or impose any additional 

22 terms and conditions on such leave that are 

23 more stringent on the employee than the terms 

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


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

2 2612(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

3 new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(4) NOTICE RELATING TO PARENTAL IN5 VOLVEMENT AND FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.—In 

6 any case in which an employee requests leave under 

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

8 shall— 

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

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

11 practicable before the date the leave is to be 

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

13 under such paragraph; and 

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

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

16 to schedule the leave so as not to disrupt un17 duly the operations of the employer, subject to 

18 the approval of the health care provider in19 volved (if any).’’. 

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

21 U.S.C. 2613) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION RELATED TO PARENTAL IN24 VOLVEMENT AND FAMILY WELLNESS LEAVE.—An em25 ployer may require that a request for leave under section 


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1 102(a)(5) be supported by a certification issued at such 

2 time and in such manner as the Secretary may by regula3 tion prescribe.’’. 

4 (f) DEFINITION OF GRANDCHILD.—Section 101 of 

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

6 2611) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraph: 

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

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

10 daughter.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. ENTITLEMENT OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO LEAVE 

12 FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND FAMILY 

13 WELLNESS. 

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

15 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following new paragraph: 

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

18 6383(f), an employee shall be entitled to leave under this 

19 paragraph to— 

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

21 sponsored by a school or community organization 

22 and relates to a program of the school or organiza23 tion that is attended by a son or daughter or a 

24 grandchild of the employee; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) meet routine family medical care needs, in2 cluding for medical and dental appointments of a 

3 son, daughter, spouse, or grandchild of the em4 ployee, or to attend to the care needs of elderly indi5 viduals who are related to the eligible employee, in6 cluding visits to nursing homes and group homes. 

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

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

9 paragraph during any 30-day period; and 

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

11 paragraph during any 12-month period. 

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

13 to any leave provided under any other paragraph of this 

14 subsection. 

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

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

17 school or secondary school (as such terms are de18 fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec19 ondary Education Act of 1965), a Head Start pro20 gram assisted under the Head Start Act, and a child 

21 care facility licensed under State law; and 

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

23 a private nonprofit organization that is representa24 tive of a community or a significant segment of a 

25 community and provides activities for individuals deVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:10 Feb 06, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3999.IH H3999

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1 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 

2 6381(6), such as a scouting or sports organization.’’. 

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

4 amended— 

5 (1) by inserting after the second sentence the 

6 following new sentence: ‘‘Leave under subsection 

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

8 leave schedule.’’; and 

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

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

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

12 or 12-month period),’’. 

13 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section 

14 6382(d) of such title is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection des16 ignation; and 

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

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

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

20 accumulated annual or sick leave under subchapter I. If 

21 the employee elects to substitute accumulated annual or 

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

23 employing agency shall not restrict or limit this substi24 tution or impose any additional terms and conditions on 


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1 such leave that are more stringent on the employee than 

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

3 (d) NOTICE.—Section 6382(e) of such title is amend4 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

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

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

7 shall— 

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

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

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

11 under such paragraph; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of leave to be taken under sub13 paragraph (A)(ii), make a reasonable effort to 

14 schedule the leave so as not to disrupt unduly the 

15 operations of the employer, subject to the approval 

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

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

18 amended by striking ‘‘6382(a)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘para19 graph (3) or (5) of section 6382(a)’’. 

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

21 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

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

23 end; 

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

25 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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

2 paragraph: 

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

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

Æ 


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