I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1542 

To provide for paid sick leave to ensure that Americans can address their 

own health needs and the health needs of their families. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2007 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. COHEN, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. DOYLE, 

Mr. OLVER, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mr. LYNCH, 

Mrs. MALONEY of New York, and Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota) 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 provide for paid sick leave to ensure that Americans 

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: 


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1 (1) Working Americans need time to meet their 

2 own health care needs and to care for family mem3 bers, including their children, spouse, parents, and 

4 parents-in-law, and other children and adults for 

5 whom they are caretakers. 

6 (2) Health care needs include preventive health 

7 care, diagnostic procedures, medical treatment, and 

8 recovery in response to short- and long-term ill9 nesses and injuries. 

10 (3) Providing employees time off to meet health 

11 care needs ensures that they will be healthier in the 

12 long run. Preventive care helps avoid illnesses and 

13 injuries and routine medical care helps detect ill14 nesses early and shorten their duration. 

15 (4) When parents are available to care for their 

16 children who become sick, children recover faster, 

17 more serious illnesses are prevented, and children’s 

18 overall mental and physical health improve. Parents 

19 who cannot afford to miss work and must send chil20 dren with a contagious illness to child care or school 

21 contribute to the high rate of infections in child care 

22 centers and schools. 

23 (5) Providing paid sick leave improves public 

24 health by reducing infectious disease. Policies that 

25 make it easier for sick adults and children to be isoVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:46 Mar 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1542.IH H1542

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1 lated at home reduce the spread of infectious dis2 ease. 

3 (6) Routine medical care reduces medical costs 

4 by detecting and treating illness and injury early, 

5 decreasing the need for emergency care. These sav6 ings benefit public and private payers of health in7 surance, including private businesses. 

8 (7) The provision of individual and family sick 

9 leave by large and small businesses, both here in the 

10 United States and elsewhere, demonstrates that pol11 icy solutions are both feasible and affordable in a 

12 competitive economy. Measures that ensure that em13 ployees are in good health and do not need to worry 

14 about unmet family health problems help businesses 

15 by promoting productivity and reducing employee 

16 turnover. 

17 (8) The American Productivity Audit found 

18 that presenteeism—the practice of employees coming 

19 to work despite illness—costs $180,000,000,000 an20 nually in lost productivity. Studies in the Journal of 

21 Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the Em22 ployee Benefit News, and the Harvard Business Re23 view show that presenteeism is a larger productivity 

24 drain than either absenteeism or short-term dis25 ability. 


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1 (9) The absence of paid sick leave has forced 

2 Americans to make untenable choices between need3 ed income and jobs on the one hand and caring for 

4 their own and their family’s health on the other. 

5 (10) Nearly half of Americans lack paid leave 

6 for self-care or to care for a family member. For 

7 families in the lowest quartile of earners, 79 percent 

8 lack paid sick leave. For families in the next 2 quar9 tiles, 46 and 38 percent, respectively, lack paid sick 

10 leave. Even for families in the highest income quar11 tile, 28 percent lack paid sick leave. In addition, mil12 lions of workers cannot use paid sick leave to care 

13 for ill family members. 

14 (11) Due to the roles of men and women in so15 ciety, the primary responsibility for family care16 taking often falls on women, and such responsibility 

17 affects the working lives of women more than it af18 fects the working lives of men. 

19 (12) An increasing number of men are also tak20 ing on caretaking obligations, and men who request 

21 leave time for caretaking purposes are often denied 

22 accommodation or penalized because of stereotypes 

23 that caretaking is only ‘‘women’s work’’. 

24 (13) Employers’ reliance on persistent stereo25 types about the ‘‘proper’’ roles of both men and 


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1 women in the workplace and in the home continues 

2 a cycle of discrimination and fosters stereotypical 

3 views about women’s commitment to work and their 

4 value as employees. 

5 (14) Employment standards that apply to only 

6 one gender have serious potential for encouraging 

7 employers to discriminate against employees and ap8 plicants for employment who are of that gender. 

9 (15) It is in the national interest to ensure that 

10 all Americans can care for their own health and the 

11 health of their families while prospering at work. 

12 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

13 The purposes of this Act are— 

14 (1) to ensure that all working Americans can 

15 address their own health needs and the health needs 

16 of their families by requiring employers to provide a 

17 minimum level of paid sick leave including leave for 

18 family care; 

19 (2) to diminish public and private health care 

20 costs by enabling workers to seek early and routine 

21 medical care for themselves and their family mem22 bers; 

23 (3) to accomplish the purposes described in 

24 paragraphs (1) and (2) in a manner that is feasible 

25 for employers; and 


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1 (4) consistent with the provision of the 14th 

2 amendment to the Constitution relating to equal 

3 protection of the laws, and pursuant to Congress’ 

4 power to enforce that provision under section 5 of 

5 that amendment— 

6 (A) to accomplish the purposes described 

7 in paragraphs (1) and (2) in a manner that 

8 minimizes the potential for employment dis9 crimination on the basis of sex by ensuring gen10 erally that leave is available for eligible medical 

11 reasons on a gender-neutral basis; and 

12 (B) to promote the goal of equal employ13 ment opportunity for women and men. 

14 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means a biologi17 cal, foster, or adopted child, a stepchild, a legal 

18 ward, or a child of a person standing in loco 

19 parentis, who is— 

20 (A) under 18 years of age; or 

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

22 of self-care because of a mental or physical dis23 ability. 

24 (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

25 an individual— 


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1 (A) who is— 

2 (i)(I) an employee, as defined in sec3 tion 3(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 

4 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)), who is not 

5 covered under clause (v), including such an 

6 employee of the Library of Congress, ex7 cept that a reference in such section to an 

8 employer shall be considered to be a ref9 erence to an employer described in clauses 

10 (i)(I) and (ii) of paragraph (3)(A); or 

11 (II) an employee of the Government 

12 Accountability Office; 

13 (ii) a State employee described in sec14 tion 304(a) of the Government Employee 

15 Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e– 

16 16c(a)); 

17 (iii) a covered employee, as defined in 

18 section 101 of the Congressional Account19 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301), other 

20 than an applicant for employment; 

21 (iv) a covered employee, as defined in 

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

23 Code; or 


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1 (v) a Federal officer or employee cov2 ered under subchapter V of chapter 63 of 

3 title 5, United States Code; and 

4 (B) who works an average of at least 20 

5 hours per week or, in the alternative, at least 

6 1,000 hours per year. 

7 (3) EMPLOYER.— 

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

9 means a person who is— 

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

11 in subparagraph (B), who is not covered 

12 under subclause (V); 

13 (II) an entity employing a State em14 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 

15 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; 

16 (III) an employing office, as defined 

17 in section 101 of the Congressional Ac18 countability Act of 1995; 

19 (IV) an employing office, as defined in 

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

21 Code; or 

22 (V) an employing agency covered 

23 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 

24 5, United States Code; and 


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1 (ii) is engaged in commerce (including 

2 government), in the production of goods 

3 for commerce, or in an enterprise engaged 

4 in commerce (including government) or in 

5 the production of goods for commerce. 

6 (B) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—In subparagraph 

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

9 (I) means any person engaged in 

10 commerce or in any industry or activ11 ity affecting commerce who employs 

12 15 or more employees for each work13 ing day during each of 20 or more 

14 calendar workweeks in the current or 

15 preceding calendar year; 

16 (II) includes— 

17 (aa) any person who acts, 

18 directly or indirectly, in the inter19 est of an employer to any of the 

20 employees of such employer; and 

21 (bb) any successor in inter22 est of an employer; 

23 (III) includes any ‘‘public agen24 cy’’, as defined in section 3(x) of the 


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1 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

2 (29 U.S.C. 203(x)); and 

3 (IV) includes the Government 

4 Accountability Office and the Library 

5 of Congress. 

6 (ii) PUBLIC AGENCY.—For purposes 

7 of clause (i)(III), a public agency shall be 

8 considered to be a person engaged in com9 merce or in an industry or activity affect10 ing commerce. 

11 (iii) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

12 this subparagraph: 

13 (I) COMMERCE.—The terms 

14 ‘‘commerce’’ and ‘‘industry or activity 

15 affecting commerce’’ mean any activ16 ity, business, or industry in commerce 

17 or in which a labor dispute would 

18 hinder or obstruct commerce or the 

19 free flow of commerce, and include 

20 ‘‘commerce’’ and any ‘‘industry affect21 ing commerce’’, as defined in para22 graphs (1) and (3) of section 501 of 

23 the Labor Management Relations Act, 

24 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (1) and (3)). 


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1 (II) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘em2 ployee’’ has the same meaning given 

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

4 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

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

6 (III) PERSON.—The term ‘‘per7 son’’ has the same meaning given 

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

9 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

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

11 (C) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in 

12 this paragraph to an employer shall include a 

13 reference to any predecessor of such employer. 

14 (4) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em15 ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 

16 made available to employees by an employer, includ17 ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 

18 insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational bene19 fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene20 fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 

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

22 as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retire23 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

24 1002(3)). 


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1 (5) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

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

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

4 who is authorized to practice medicine or sur5 gery (as appropriate) by the State in which the 

6 doctor practices; or 

7 (ii) is any other person determined by the 

8 Secretary to be capable of providing health care 

9 services; and 

10 (B) is not employed by an employer for 

11 whom the provider issues certification under 

12 this Act. 

13 (6) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a bio14 logical, foster, or adoptive parent of an employee, a 

15 stepparent of an employee, or a legal guardian or 

16 other person who stood in loco parentis to an em17 ployee when the employee was a child. 

18 (7) PRO RATA.—The term ‘‘pro rata’’, with re19 spect to benefits offered to part-time employees, 

20 means the proportion of each of the benefits offered 

21 to full-time employees that are offered to part-time 

22 employees that, for each benefit, is equal to the ratio 

23 of part-time hours worked to full-time hours worked. 

24 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Labor. 


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1 (9) SICK LEAVE.—The term ‘‘sick leave’’ means 

2 an increment of compensated leave provided by an 

3 employer to an employee as a benefit of employment 

4 for use by the employee during an absence from em5 ployment for any of the reasons described in para6 graphs (1) through (3) of section 5(d). 

7 (10) SPOUSE.—The term ‘‘spouse’’, with re8 spect to an employee, has the meaning given such 

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

10 employee resides. 

11 SEC. 5. PROVISION OF PAID SICK LEAVE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall provide for 

13 each employee employed by the employer not less than— 

14 (1) 7 days of sick leave with pay and employ15 ment benefits annually for employees working 30 or 

16 more hours per week; or 

17 (2) a pro rata number of days or hours of sick 

18 leave with pay and employment benefits annually for 

19 employees working less than— 

20 (A) 30 hours per week on a year-round 

21 basis; or 

22 (B) 1,500 hours throughout the year in23 volved. 

24 (b) ACCRUAL.— 


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1 (1) PERIOD OF ACCRUAL.—Sick leave provided 

2 for under this section shall accrue as determined ap3 propriate by the employer, but not on less than a 

4 quarterly basis. 

5 (2) ACCUMULATION.—Accrued sick leave pro6 vided for under this section shall carry over from 

7 year to year, but this Act shall not be construed to 

8 require an employer to permit an employee to accu9 mulate more than 7 days of the sick leave. 

10 (3) USE.—The sick leave may be used as ac11 crued. The employer, at the discretion of the em12 ployer, may loan the sick leave to the employee in 

13 advance of accrual by such employee. 

14 (c) CALCULATION.— 

15 (1) LESS THAN A FULL WORKDAY.—Unless the 

16 employer and employee agree to designate otherwise, 

17 for periods of sick leave that are less than a normal 

18 workday, that leave shall be counted— 

19 (A) on an hourly basis; or 

20 (B) in the smallest increment that the em21 ployer’s payroll system uses to account for ab22 sences or use of leave. 

23 (2) VARIABLE SCHEDULE.—If the schedule of 

24 an employee varies from week to week, a weekly av25 erage of the hours worked over the 12-week period 


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1 prior to the beginning of a sick leave period shall be 

2 used to calculate the employee’s normal workweek 

3 for the purpose of determining the amount of sick 

4 leave to which the employee is entitled. 

5 (d) USES.—Sick leave accrued under this section may 

6 be used by an employee for any of the following: 

7 (1) An absence resulting from a physical or 

8 mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the 

9 employee. 

10 (2) An absence resulting from obtaining profes11 sional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive med12 ical care, for the employee subject to the require13 ment of subsection (e). 

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

15 child, a parent, a spouse, or any other individual re16 lated by blood or affinity whose close association 

17 with the employee is the equivalent of a family rela18 tionship, who— 

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

20 diagnosis or care described in paragraph (1) or 

21 (2); and 

22 (B) in the case of someone who is not a 

23 child, is otherwise in need of care. 

24 (e) SCHEDULING.—An employee shall make a reason25 able effort to schedule leave under paragraphs (2) and (3) 


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1 of subsection (d) in a manner that does not unduly disrupt 

2 the operations of the employer. 

3 (f) PROCEDURES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paid sick leave shall be pro5 vided upon the oral or written request of an em6 ployee. Such request shall— 

7 (A) include a reason for the absence in8 volved and the expected duration of the leave; 

9 (B) in a case in which the need for leave 

10 is foreseeable at least 7 days in advance of such 

11 leave, be provided at least 7 days in advance of 

12 such leave; and 

13 (C) otherwise, be provided as soon as prac14 ticable after the employee is aware of the need 

15 for such leave. 

16 (2) CERTIFICATION.— 

17 (A) PROVISION.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara19 graph (C), an employer may require that a 

20 request for leave be supported by a certifi21 cation issued by the health care profes22 sional of the eligible employee or of an in23 dividual described in subsection (d)(3), as 

24 appropriate, if the leave period covers more 

25 than 3 consecutive workdays. 


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1 (ii) TIMELINESS.—The employee shall 

2 provide a copy of such certification to the 

3 employer in a timely manner, not later 

4 than 30 days after the first day of the 

5 leave. The employer shall not delay the 

6 commencement of the leave on the basis 

7 that the employer has not yet received the 

8 certification. 

9 (B) SUFFICIENT CERTIFICATION.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—A certification pro11 vided under subparagraph (A) shall be suf12 ficient if it states— 

13 (I) the date on which the leave 

14 will be needed; 

15 (II) the probable duration of the 

16 leave; 

17 (III) the appropriate medical 

18 facts within the knowledge of the 

19 health care provider regarding the 

20 condition involved, subject to clause 

21 (ii); and 

22 (IV)(aa) for purposes of leave 

23 under subsection (d)(1), a statement 

24 that leave from work is medically nec25 essary; 


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1 (bb) for purposes of leave under 

2 subsection (d)(2), the dates on which 

3 testing for a medical diagnosis or care 

4 is expected to be given and the dura5 tion of such testing or care; and 

6 (cc) for purposes of leave under 

7 subsection (d)(3), in the case of leave 

8 to care for someone who is not a 

9 child, a statement that care is needed 

10 for an individual described in such 

11 subsection, and an estimate of the 

12 amount of time that such care is 

13 needed for such individual. 

14 (ii) LIMITATION.—In issuing a certifi15 cation under subparagraph (A), a health 

16 care provider shall make reasonable efforts 

17 to limit the medical facts described in 

18 clause (i)(III) that are disclosed in the cer19 tification to the minimum necessary to es20 tablish a need for the employee to utilize 

21 paid sick leave. 

22 (C) REGULATIONS.—Regulations pre23 scribed under section 13 shall specify the man24 ner in which an employee who does not have 


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1 health insurance shall provide a certification for 

2 purposes of this paragraph. 

3 (D) CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLO4 SURE.— 

5 (i) PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMA6 TION.—Nothing in this Act shall be con7 strued to require a health care provider to 

8 disclose information in violation of section 

9 1177 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 1320d–6) or the regulations promulgated 

11 pursuant to section 264(c) of the Health 

12 Insurance Portability and Accountability 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note). 

14 (ii) HEALTH INFORMATION

15 RECORDS.—If an employer possesses 

16 health information about an employee or 

17 an employee’s child, parent, spouse or 

18 other individual described in subsection 

19 (d)(3), such information shall— 

20 (I) be maintained on a separate 

21 form and in a separate file from other 

22 personnel information; 

23 (II) be treated as a confidential 

24 medical record; and 


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1 (III) not be disclosed except to 

2 the affected employee or with the per3 mission of the affected employee. 

4 (g) CURRENT LEAVE POLICIES.— 

5 (1) EQUIVALENCY REQUIREMENT.—An em6 ployer with a leave policy providing paid leave op7 tions shall not be required to modify such policy, if 

8 such policy includes provisions for the provision, use, 

9 and administration of paid sick leave that meet the 

10 requirements of subsections (a) through (f). 

11 (2) NO ELIMINATION, REDUCTION, OR REDES12 IGNATION OF EXISTING LEAVE.—An employer may 

13 not eliminate, reduce, or redesignate any leave in ex14 istence on the date of enactment of this Act in order 

15 to comply with the provisions of this Act. 

16 SEC. 6. POSTING REQUIREMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each employer shall post and 

18 keep posted a notice, to be prepared or approved in ac19 cordance with procedures specified in regulations pre20 scribed under section 13, setting forth excerpts from, or 

21 summaries of, the pertinent provisions of this Act includ22 ing— 

23 (1) information describing leave available to 

24 employees under this Act; 


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1 (2) information pertaining to the filing of an 

2 action under this Act; 

3 (3) the details of the notice requirement for 

4 foreseeable leave under section 5(f)(1)(B); and 

5 (4) information that describes— 

6 (A) the protections that an employee has 

7 in exercising rights under this Act; and 

8 (B) how the employee can contact the Sec9 retary (or other appropriate authority as de10 scribed in section 8) if any of the rights are vio11 lated. 

12 (b) LOCATION.—The notice described under sub13 section (a) shall be posted— 

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

15 employer, where notices to employees (including ap16 plicants) are customarily posted; or 

17 (2) in employee handbooks. 

18 (c) VIOLATION; PENALTY.—Any employer who will19 fully violates the posting requirements of this section shall 

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

21 for each separate offense. 

22 SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

23 (a) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.— 

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

25 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 sick leave under 

9 this Act as a negative factor in an employment 

10 action, such as hiring, promotion, or a discipli11 nary action; or 

12 (C) counting the sick leave under a no13 fault attendance policy. 

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

15 any employer to discharge or in any other manner 

16 discriminate against (including retaliating against) 

17 any individual, including a job applicant, for oppos18 ing any practice made unlawful by this Act. 

19 (b) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR INQUIR20 IES.—It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or 

21 in any other manner discriminate against (including retali22 ating against) any individual, including a job applicant, 

23 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 clause (i) or (ii) of section 

20 4(2)(A); and 

21 (B) the term ‘‘employer’’ means an em22 ployer described in subclause (I) or (II) of sec23 tion 4(3)(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 7 days 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 within 3 years of the date 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(2)(A)(iii). 

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(2)(A)(iv). 

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(2)(A)(v). 

5 SEC. 9. COLLECTION OF DATA ON PAID SICK DAYS AND 

6 FURTHER STUDY. 

7 (a) COMPILATION OF INFORMATION.—Effective 90 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis9 sioner of Labor Statistics shall annually compile informa10 tion on the following: 

11 (1) The number of employees who used paid 

12 sick leave. 

13 (2) The number of hours of the paid sick leave 

14 used. 

15 (3) The demographic characteristics of employ16 ees who were eligible for and who used the paid sick 

17 leave. 

18 (b) GAO STUDY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

20 the United States shall annually conduct a study to 

21 determine the following: 

22 (A)(i) The number of days employees used 

23 paid sick leave and the reasons for the use. 


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1 (ii) The number of employees who used the 

2 paid sick leave for leave periods covering more 

3 than 3 consecutive workdays. 

4 (B) Whether employees used the paid sick 

5 leave to care for illnesses or conditions caused 

6 by domestic violence against the employees or 

7 their family members. 

8 (C) The cost and benefits to employers of 

9 implementing the paid sick leave policies. 

10 (D) The cost to employees of providing 

11 certification issued by a health care provider to 

12 obtain the paid sick leave. 

13 (E) The benefits of the paid sick leave to 

14 employees and their family members, including 

15 effects on employees’ ability to care for their 

16 family members or to provide for their own 

17 health needs. 

18 (F) Whether the paid sick leave affected 

19 employees’ ability to sustain an adequate in20 come while meeting health needs of the employ21 ees and their family members. 

22 (G) Whether employers who administered 

23 paid sick leave policies prior to the date of en24 actment of this Act were affected by the provi25 sions of this Act. 


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1 (H) Whether other types of leave were af2 fected by this Act. 

3 (I) Whether paid sick leave affected reten4 tion and turnover and costs of presenteeism. 

5 (J) Whether the paid sick leave increased 

6 the use of less costly preventive medical care 

7 and lowered the use of emergency room care. 

8 (K) Whether the paid sick leave reduced 

9 the number of children sent to school when the 

10 children were sick. 

11 (2) AGGREGATING DATA.—The data collected 

12 under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (E) of paragraph 

13 (1) shall be aggregated by gender, race, disability, 

14 earnings level, age, marital status, and family type, 

15 including parental status. 

16 (3) REPORTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

19 the Comptroller General of the United States 

20 shall prepare and submit a report to the appro21 priate committees of Congress concerning the 

22 results of the study conducted pursuant to 

23 paragraph (1) and the data aggregated under 

24 paragraph (2). 


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1 (B) FOLLOWUP REPORT.—Not later that 5 

2 years after the date of enactment of this Act 

3 the Comptroller General of the United States 

4 shall prepare and submit a followup report to 

5 the appropriate committees of Congress con6 cerning the results of the study conducted pur7 suant to paragraph (1) and the data aggregated 

8 under paragraph (2). 

9 SEC. 10. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

10 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE ANTIDISCRIMINATION

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

12 or affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimina13 tion on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, 

14 sex, age, or disability. 

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

16 shall be construed to supersede any provision of any State 

17 or local law that provides greater paid sick leave or other 

18 leave rights than the rights established under this Act. 

19 SEC. 11. EFFECT ON EXISTING EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. 

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

21 be construed to diminish the obligation of an employer to 

22 comply with any contract, collective bargaining agreement, 

23 or any employment benefit program or plan that provides 

24 greater paid sick leave rights to employees or individuals 

25 than the rights established under this Act. 


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

2 employees under this Act shall not be diminished by any 

3 contract, collective bargaining agreement, or any employ4 ment benefit program or plan. 

5 SEC. 12. ENCOURAGEMENT OF MORE GENEROUS LEAVE 

6 POLICIES. 

7 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage 

8 employers from adopting or retaining leave policies more 

9 generous than policies that comply with the requirements 

10 of this Act. 

11 SEC. 13. REGULATIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (1) AUTHORITY.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), not later than 120 days after the date of 

15 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe 

16 such regulations as are necessary to carry out this 

17 Act with respect to employees described in clause (i) 

18 or (ii) of section 4(2)(A) and other individuals af19 fected by employers described in subclause (I) or 

20 (II) of section 4(3)(A)(i). 

21 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE; LI22 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—The Comptroller General of 

23 the United States and the Librarian of Congress 

24 shall prescribe the regulations with respect to em25 ployees of the Government Accountability Office and 


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1 the Library of Congress, respectively and other indi2 viduals affected by the Comptroller General of the 

3 United States and the Librarian of Congress, re4 spectively. 

5 (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL AC6 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.— 

7 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 120 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Board 

9 of Directors of the Office of Compliance shall pre10 scribe (in accordance with section 304 of the Con11 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

12 1384)) such regulations as are necessary to carry 

13 out this Act with respect to employees described in 

14 section 4(2)(A)(iii) and other individuals affected by 

15 employers described in section 4(3)(A)(i)(III). 

16 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

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

18 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec19 retary to carry out this Act except insofar as the 

20 Board may determine, for good cause shown and 

21 stated together with the regulations prescribed 

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

23 regulations would be more effective for the imple24 mentation of the rights and protections involved 

25 under this section. 


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1 (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE

2 3, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

3 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 120 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Presi5 dent (or the designee of the President) shall pre6 scribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out 

7 this Act with respect to employees described in sec8 tion 4(2)(A)(iv) and other individuals affected by 

9 employers described in section 4(3)(A)(i)(IV). 

10 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

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

12 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec13 retary to carry out this Act except insofar as the 

14 President (or designee) may determine, for good 

15 cause shown and stated together with the regula16 tions prescribed under paragraph (1), that a modi17 fication of such regulations would be more effective 

18 for the implementation of the rights and protections 

19 involved under this section. 

20 (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF TITLE

21 5, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

22 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 120 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

24 of the Office of Personnel Management shall pre25 scribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out 


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1 this Act with respect to employees described in sec2 tion 4(2)(A)(v) and other individuals affected by em3 ployers described in section 4(3)(A)(i)(V). 

4 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

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

6 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec7 retary to carry out this Act except insofar as the Di8 rector may determine, for good cause shown and 

9 stated together with the regulations prescribed 

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

11 regulations would be more effective for the imple12 mentation of the rights and protections involved 

13 under this section. 

14 SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall take effect 1 year 

16 after the date of issuance of regulations under section 

17 13(a)(1). 

18 (b) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—In the 

19 case of a collective bargaining agreement in effect on the 

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

21 take effect on the earlier of— 

22 (1) the date of the termination of such agree23 ment; or 


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

2 date of issuance of regulations under section 

3 13(a)(1). 

Æ 


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