II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 932 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2005 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

HARKIN, Mr. DODD, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. AKAKA, Mrs. 

BOXER, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. DAYTON) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

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: 

7 (1) Working Americans need to take time off 

8 for their own health care needs or to perform essen-
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1 tial caretaking responsibilities for a wide range of 

2 family members, including, among others, their chil3 dren, spouse, parents, and parents-in-law, and other 

4 children and adults for whom they are caretakers. 

5 (2) Health care needs include preventive health 

6 care, diagnostic procedures, medical treatment, and 

7 recovery in response to short- and long-term ill8 nesses and injuries. 

9 (3) Providing employees time off to tend to 

10 their own health care needs ensures that they will be 

11 healthier in the long run. Preventive care helps avoid 

12 illnesses and injuries and routine medical care helps 

13 detect illnesses early and shorten the duration of ill14 nesses. 

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 are improved. 

19 Parents who cannot afford to miss work and must 

20 send children with a contagious illness to child care 

21 or school contribute to the high rate of infections in 

22 child care 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 iso-
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1 lated at home reduce the spread of infectious dis2 ease. 

3 (6) Routine medical care results in savings by 

4 decreasing medical costs by detecting and treating 

5 illness and injury early, decreasing the need for 

6 emergency care. These savings benefit public and 

7 private payers of health insurance, including private 

8 businesses. 

9 (7) The provision of individual and family sick 

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

11 United States and elsewhere, demonstrates that pol12 icy solutions are both feasible and affordable in a 

13 competitive economy. Measures that ensure that em14 ployees are both in good health themselves and do 

15 not need to worry about unmet family health prob16 lems help businesses by promoting productivity and 

17 reducing employee turnover. 

18 (8) The American Productivity Audit found 

19 that presenteeism—the practice of employees coming 

20 to work despite illness—costs $180,000,000,000 an21 nually in lost productivity. Studies in the Journal of 

22 Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the Em23 ployee Benefit News, and the Harvard Business Re24 view show that presenteeism is a larger productivity 
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1 drain than either absenteeism or short-term dis2 ability. 

3 (9) The absence of sick leave has forced Ameri4 cans to make untenable choices between needed in5 come and jobs on the one hand and caring for their 

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

7 (10) The majority of middle income Americans 

8 lack paid leave for self-care or to care for a family 

9 member. Low-income Americans are significantly 

10 worse off. Of the poorest families (the lowest quar11 tile), 76 percent lack regular sick leave. For families 

12 in the next 2 quartiles, 63 percent and 54 percent, 

13 respectively lack regular sick leave. Even in the 

14 highest income quartile, 40 percent of families lack 

regular sick leave. Less than 1 15 ⁄2 of workers who have 

16 paid sick leave can use it to care for ill children. 

17 (11) It is in the national interest to ensure that 

18 Americans from all demographic groups can care for 

19 their own health and the health of their families 

20 while prospering at work. 

21 (12) Due to the nature of the roles of men and 

22 women in society, the primary responsibility for fam23 ily caretaking often falls on women, and such re24 sponsibility affects the working lives of women more 

25 than it affects the working lives of men. 
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1 (13) Although women are still primarily respon2 sible for family caretaking, an increasing number of 

3 men are taking on caretaking obligations, and men 

4 who request leave time for caretaking purposes are 

5 often denied accommodation or penalized because of 

6 stereotypes that caretaking is only ‘‘women’s work’’. 

7 (14) Employers’ reliance on persistent stereo8 types about the ‘‘proper’’ roles of both men and 

9 women in the workplace and in the home— 

10 (A) creates a cycle of discrimination that 

11 forces women to continue to assume the role of 

12 primary family caregiver; and 

13 (B) fosters stereotypical views among em14 ployers about women’s commitment to work and 

15 their value as employees. 

16 (15) Employment standards that apply to only 

17 one gender have serious potential for encouraging 

18 employers to discriminate against employees and ap19 plicants for employment who are of that gender. 

20 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

21 The purposes of this Act are— 

22 (1) to ensure that all working Americans can 

23 address their own health needs and the health needs 

24 of their families by requiring employers to provide a 
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1 minimum level of paid sick leave including leave for 

2 family care; 

3 (2) to diminish public and private health care 

4 costs by enabling workers to seek early and routine 

5 medical care for themselves and their family mem6 bers; 

7 (3) to accomplish the purposes described in 

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

9 for employers; and 

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

11 amendment to the Constitution relating to equal 

12 protection of the laws, and pursuant to Congress’ 

13 power to enforce that provision under section 5 of 

14 that amendment— 

15 (A) to accomplish the purposes described 

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

17 minimizes the potential for employment dis18 crimination on the basis of sex by ensuring gen19 erally that leave is available for eligible medical 

20 reasons on a gender-neutral basis; and 

21 (B) to promote the goal of equal employ22 ment opportunity for women and men. 

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 
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1 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means a biologi2 cal, foster, or adopted child, a stepchild, a legal 

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

4 parentis, who is— 

5 (A) under 18 years of age; or 

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

7 of self-care because of a mental or physical dis8 ability. 

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

10 an individual— 

11 (A) who is— 

12 (i)(I) an employee (including an appli13 cant), as defined in section 3(e) of the Fair 

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

15 203(e)), who is not covered under clause 

16 (v), including such an employee of the Li17 brary of Congress, except that a reference 

18 in such section to an employer shall be 

19 considered to be a reference to an employer 

20 described in clauses (i)(I) and (ii) of para21 graph (3)(A); or 

22 (II) an employee (including an appli23 cant) of the Government Accountability 

24 Office; 
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1 (ii) a State employee (including an ap2 plicant) described in section 304(a) of the 

3 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 

4 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); 

5 (iii) a covered employee (including an 

6 applicant), as defined in section 101 of the 

7 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 

8 (2 U.S.C. 1301); 

9 (iv) a covered employee (including an 

10 applicant), as defined in section 411(c) of 

11 title 3, United States Code; or 

12 (v) a Federal officer or employee (in13 cluding an applicant) covered under sub14 chapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, United 

15 States Code; and 

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

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

18 1,000 hours per year. 

19 (3) EMPLOYER.— 

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

21 means a person who is— 

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

23 in subparagraph (B), who is not covered 

24 under subclause (V); 
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1 (II) an entity employing a State em2 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 

3 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; 

4 (III) an employing office, as defined 

5 in section 101 of the Congressional Ac6 countability Act of 1995; 

7 (IV) an employing office, as defined in 

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

9 Code; or 

10 (V) an employing agency covered 

11 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 

12 5, United States Code; and 

13 (ii) is engaged in commerce (including 

14 government), in the production of goods 

15 for commerce, or in an enterprise engaged 

16 in commerce (including government) or in 

17 the production of goods for commerce. 

18 (B) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—In subparagraph 

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

21 (I) means any person engaged in 

22 commerce or in any industry or activ23 ity affecting commerce who employs 

24 15 or more employees for each work25 ing day during each of 20 or more 
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1 calendar workweeks in the current or 

2 preceding calendar year; 

3 (II) includes— 

4 (aa) any person who acts, 

5 directly or indirectly, in the inter6 est of an employer to any of the 

7 employees of such employer; and 

8 (bb) any successor in inter9 est of an employer; 

10 (III) includes any ‘‘public agen11 cy’’, as defined in section 3(x) of the 

12 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

13 (29 U.S.C. 203(x)); and 

14 (IV) includes the Government 

15 Accountability Office and the Library 

16 of Congress. 

17 (ii) PUBLIC AGENCY.—For purposes 

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

19 considered to be a person engaged in com20 merce or in an industry or activity affect21 ing commerce. 

22 (iii) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

23 this subparagraph: 

24 (I) COMMERCE.—The terms 

25 ‘‘commerce’’ and ‘‘industry or activity 
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1 affecting commerce’’ mean any activ2 ity, business, or industry in commerce 

3 or in which a labor dispute would 

4 hinder or obstruct commerce or the 

5 free flow of commerce, and include 

6 ‘‘commerce’’ and any ‘‘industry affect7 ing commerce’’, as defined in para8 graphs (1) and (3) of section 501 of 

9 the Labor Management Relations Act, 

10 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (1) and (3)). 

11 (II) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘em12 ployee’’ has the same meaning given 

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

14 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

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

16 (III) PERSON.—The term ‘‘per17 son’’ has the same meaning given 

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

19 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

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

21 (C) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in 

22 this paragraph to an employer shall include a 

23 reference to any predecessor of such employer. 

24 (4) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em25 ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 
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1 made available to employees by an employer, includ2 ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 

3 insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational bene4 fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene5 fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 

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

7 as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retire8 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

9 1002(3)). 

10 (5) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

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

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

13 who is authorized to practice medicine or sur14 gery (as appropriate) by the State in which the 

15 doctor practices; or 

16 (ii) is any other person determined by the 

17 Secretary to be capable of providing health care 

18 services; and 

19 (B) is not employed by an employer for 

20 whom the provider issues certification under 

21 this Act. 

22 (6) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a bio23 logical, foster, or adoptive parent of an employee, a 

24 stepparent of an employee, or a legal guardian or 
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1 other person who stood in loco parentis to an em2 ployee when the employee was a child. 

3 (7) PRO RATA.—The term ‘‘pro rata’’, with re4 spect to benefits offered to part-time employees, 

5 means the proportion of each of the benefits offered 

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

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

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

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

10 the Secretary of Labor. 

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

12 an increment of compensated leave provided by an 

13 employer to an employee as a benefit of employment 

14 for use by the employee during an absence from em15 ployment for any of the reasons described in para16 graphs (1) through (3) of section 5(d). 

17 (10) SPOUSE.—The term ‘‘spouse’’, with re18 spect to an employee, has the meaning given such 

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

20 employee resides. 

21 SEC. 5. PROVISION OF PAID SICK LEAVE. 

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

23 each employee employed by the employer not less than— 

24 (1) 7 days of sick leave with pay annually for 

25 employees working 30 or more hours per week; or 
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1 (2) a pro rata number of days or hours of sick 

2 leave with pay annually for employees working less 

3 than— 

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

5 basis; or 

6 (B) 1,500 hours throughout the year in7 volved. 

8 (b) ACCRUAL.— 

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

10 for under this section shall accrue as determined ap11 propriate by the employer, but not on less than a 

12 quarterly basis. 

13 (2) ACCUMULATION.—Accrued sick leave pro14 vided for under this section shall carry over from 

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

16 require an employer to permit an employee to accu17 mulate more than 7 days of the sick leave. 

18 (3) USE.—The sick leave may be used as ac19 crued. The employer, at the discretion of the em20 ployer, may loan the sick leave to the employee in 

21 advance of accrual by such employee. 

22 (c) CALCULATION.— 

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

24 employer and employee agree to designate otherwise, 
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1 for periods of sick leave that are less than a normal 

2 workday, that leave shall be counted— 

3 (A) on an hourly basis; or 

4 (B) in the smallest increment that the em5 ployer’s payroll system uses to account for ab6 sences or use of leave. 

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

8 an employee varies from week to week, a weekly av9 erage of the hours worked over the 12-week period 

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

11 used to calculate the employee’s normal workweek 

12 for the purpose of determining the amount of sick 

13 leave to which the employee is entitled. 

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

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

16 (1) An absence resulting from a physical or 

17 mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the 

18 employee. 

19 (2) An absence resulting from obtaining profes20 sional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive med21 ical care, for the employee subject to the require22 ment of subsection (e). 

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

24 child, a parent, a spouse, or any other individual re25 lated by blood or affinity whose close association 
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1 with the employee is the equivalent of a family rela2 tionship, who— 

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

4 diagnosis or care described in paragraph (1) or 

5 (2); and 

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

7 child, is otherwise in need of care. 

8 (e) SCHEDULING.—An employee shall make a reason9 able effort to schedule leave under paragraphs (2) and (3) 

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

11 the operations of the employer. 

12 (f) PROCEDURES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paid sick leave shall be pro14 vided upon the oral or written request of an em15 ployee. Such request shall— 

16 (A) include a reason for the absence in17 volved and the expected duration of the leave; 

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

19 is foreseeable at least 7 days in advance of such 

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

21 such leave; and 

22 (C) otherwise, be provided as soon as prac23 ticable after the employee is aware of the need 

24 for such leave. 

25 (2) CERTIFICATION.— 
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1 (A) PROVISION.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara3 graph (C), an employer may require that a 

4 request for leave be supported by a certifi5 cation issued by the health care profes6 sional of the eligible employee or of an in7 dividual described in subsection (d)(3), as 

8 appropriate, if the leave period covers more 

9 than 3 consecutive workdays. 

10 (ii) TIMELINESS.—The employee shall 

11 provide a copy of such certification to the 

12 employer in a timely manner, not later 

13 than 30 days after the first day of the 

14 leave. The employer shall not delay the 

15 commencement of the leave on the basis 

16 that the employer has not yet received the 

17 certification. 

18 (B) SUFFICIENT CERTIFICATION.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—A certification pro20 vided under subparagraph (A) shall be suf21 ficient if it states— 

22 (I) the date on which the leave 

23 will be needed; 

24 (II) the probable duration of the 

25 leave; 
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1 (III) the appropriate medical 

2 facts within the knowledge of the 

3 health care provider regarding the 

4 condition involved, subject to clause 

5 (ii); and 

6 (IV)(aa) for purposes of leave 

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

8 that leave from work is medically nec9 essary; 

10 (bb) for purposes of leave under 

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

12 testing for a medical diagnosis or care 

13 is expected to be given and the dura14 tion of such testing or care; and 

15 (cc) for purposes of leave under 

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

17 to care for someone who is not a 

18 child, a statement that care is needed 

19 for an individual described in such 

20 subsection, and an estimate of the 

21 amount of time that such care is 

22 needed for such individual. 

23 (ii) LIMITATION.—In issuing a certifi24 cation under subparagraph (A), a health 

25 care provider shall make reasonable efforts 
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1 to limit the medical facts described in 

2 clause (i)(III) that are disclosed in the cer3 tification to the minimum necessary to es4 tablish a need for the employee to utilize 

5 paid sick leave. 

6 (C) REGULATIONS.—Regulations pre7 scribed under section 13 shall specify the man8 ner in which an employee who does not have 

9 health insurance shall provide a certification for 

10 purposes of this paragraph. 

11 (D) CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLO12 SURE.— 

13 (i) PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMA14 TION.—Nothing in this Act shall be con15 strued to require a health care provider to 

16 disclose information in violation of section 

17 1177 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 1320d–6) or the regulations promulgated 

19 pursuant to section 264(c) of the Health 

20 Insurance Portability and Accountability 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note). 

22 (ii) HEALTH INFORMATION

23 RECORDS.—If an employer possesses 

24 health information about an employee or 

25 an employee’s child, parent, spouse or 
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1 other individual described in subsection 

2 (d)(3), such information shall— 

3 (I) be maintained on a separate 

4 form and in a separate file from other 

5 personnel information; 

6 (II) be treated as a confidential 

7 medical record; and 

8 (III) not be disclosed except to 

9 the affected employee or with the per10 mission of the affected employee. 

11 (g) CURRENT LEAVE POLICIES.— 

12 (1) EQUIVALENCY REQUIREMENT.—An em13 ployer with a leave policy providing paid leave op14 tions shall not be required to modify such policy, if 

15 such policy offers an employee the option, at the em16 ployee’s discretion, to take paid sick leave that is at 

17 least equivalent to the sick leave described in para18 graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) and subsection 

19 (d), or if the policy offers paid leave (in amounts 

20 equivalent to the amounts described in such para21 graphs) for purposes that include the reasons de22 scribed in subsection (d). 

23 (2) NO ELIMINATION OR REDUCTION OF

24 LEAVE.—An employer may not eliminate or reduce 

25 leave in existence on the date of enactment of this 
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1 Act, regardless of the type of such leave, in order to 

2 comply with the provisions of this Act. 

3 SEC. 6. POSTING REQUIREMENT. 

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

5 keep posted a notice, to be prepared or approved in ac6 cordance with procedures specified in regulations pre7 scribed under section 13, setting forth excerpts from, or 

8 summaries of, the pertinent provisions of this Act includ9 ing— 

10 (1) information describing leave available to 

11 employees under this Act; 

12 (2) information pertaining to the filing of an 

13 action under this Act; 

14 (3) the details of the notice requirement for 

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

16 (4) information that describes— 

17 (A) the protections that an employee has 

18 in exercising rights under this Act; and 

19 (B) how the employee can contact the Sec20 retary (or other appropriate authority as de21 scribed in section 8) if any of the rights are vio22 lated. 

23 (b) LOCATION.—The notice described under sub24 section (a) shall be posted— 
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1 (1) in conspicuous places on the premises of the 

2 employer, where notices to employees (including ap3 plicants) are customarily posted; or 

4 (2) in employee handbooks. 

5 (c) VIOLATION; PENALTY.—Any employer who will6 fully violates the posting requirements of this section shall 

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

8 for each separate offense. 

9 SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

10 (a) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.— 

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

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

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

14 provided under this Act. 

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

16 any employer to discharge or in any other manner 

17 discriminate against (including retaliating against) 

18 any individual for opposing any practice made un19 lawful by this Act, including— 

20 (A) discharging or discriminating against 

21 (including retaliating against) any individual for 

22 exercising, or attempting to exercise, any right 

23 provided under this Act; 

24 (B) using the taking of sick leave under 

25 this Act as a negative factor in an employment 
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1 action, such as hiring, promotion, or a discipli2 nary action; or 

3 (C) counting the sick leave under a no4 fault attendance policy. 

5 (b) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR INQUIR6 IES.—It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or 

7 in any other manner discriminate against (including retali8 ating against) any individual because such individual— 

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

10 caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or re11 lated to this Act; 

12 (2) has given, or is about to give, any informa13 tion in connection with any inquiry or proceeding re14 lating to any right provided under this Act; or 

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

16 inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided 

17 under this Act. 

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

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

20 prohibited by section 105 of the Family and Medical Leave 

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

22 the activities prohibited by this section. 

23 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

25 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection: 
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1 (A) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an em2 ployee described in clause (i) or (ii) of section 

3 4(2)(A); and 

4 (B) the term ‘‘employer’’ means an em5 ployer described in subclause (I) or (II) of sec6 tion 4(3)(A)(i). 

7 (2) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance 

9 with the provisions of this Act, or any regula10 tion or order issued under this Act, the Sec11 retary shall have, subject to subparagraph (C), 

12 the investigative authority provided under sec13 tion 11(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

14 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)), with respect to em15 ployees and employers. 

16 (B) OBLIGATION TO KEEP AND PRESERVE

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

18 preserve records pertaining to compliance with 

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

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

21 211(c)) and in accordance with regulations pre22 scribed by the Secretary. 

23 (C) REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS GENERALLY

24 LIMITED TO AN ANNUAL BASIS.—The Secretary 

25 shall not require, under the authority of this 
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1 paragraph, an employer to submit to the Sec2 retary any books or records more than once 

3 during any 12-month period, unless the Sec4 retary has reasonable cause to believe there 

5 may exist a violation of this Act or any regula6 tion or order issued pursuant to this Act, or is 

7 investigating a charge pursuant to paragraph 

8 (4). 

9 (D) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—For the pur10 poses of any investigation provided for in this 

11 paragraph, the Secretary shall have the sub12 poena authority provided for under section 9 of 

13 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

14 U.S.C. 209). 

15 (3) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEES.— 

16 (A) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to re17 cover the damages or equitable relief prescribed 

18 in subparagraph (B) may be maintained 

19 against any employer in any Federal or State 

20 court of competent jurisdiction by one or more 

21 employees or their representative for and on be22 half of— 

23 (i) the employees; or 

24 (ii) the employees and other employ25 ees similarly situated. 
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1 (B) LIABILITY.—Any employer who vio2 lates section 7 (including a violation relating to 

3 rights provided under section 5) shall be liable 

4 to any employee affected— 

5 (i) for damages equal to— 

6 (I) the amount of— 

7 (aa) any wages, salary, em8 ployment benefits, or other com9 pensation denied or lost to such 

10 employee by reason of the viola11 tion; or 

12 (bb) in a case in which 

13 wages, salary, employment bene14 fits, or other compensation have 

15 not been denied or lost to the 

16 employee, any actual monetary 

17 losses sustained by the employee 

18 as a direct result of the violation 

19 up to a sum equal to 7 days of 

20 wages or salary for the employee; 

21 (II) the interest on the amount 

22 described in subclause (I) calculated 

23 at the prevailing rate; and 

24 (III) an additional amount as liq25 uidated damages; and 
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1 (ii) for such equitable relief as may be 

2 appropriate, including employment, rein3 statement, and promotion. 

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

5 action under this paragraph shall, in addition to 

6 any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow a 

7 reasonable attorney’s fee, reasonable expert wit8 ness fees, and other costs of the action to be 

9 paid by the defendant. 

10 (4) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.— 

11 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Sec12 retary shall receive, investigate, and attempt to 

13 resolve complaints of violations of section 7 (in14 cluding a violation relating to rights provided 

15 under section 5) in the same manner that the 

16 Secretary receives, investigates, and attempts to 

17 resolve complaints of violations of sections 6 

18 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

19 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 207). 

20 (B) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may 

21 bring an action in any court of competent juris22 diction to recover the damages described in 

23 paragraph (3)(B)(i). 

24 (C) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recov25 ered by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph 
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1 (B) shall be held in a special deposit account 

2 and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, di3 rectly to each employee affected. Any such sums 

4 not paid to an employee because of inability to 

5 do so within a period of 3 years shall be depos6 ited into the Treasury of the United States as 

7 miscellaneous receipts. 

8 (5) LIMITATION.— 

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

10 subparagraph (B), an action may be brought 

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

12 2 years after the date of the last event consti13 tuting the alleged violation for which the action 

14 is brought. 

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

16 an action brought for a willful violation of sec17 tion 7 (including a willful violation relating to 

18 rights provided under section 5), such action 

19 may be brought within 3 years of the date of 

20 the last event constituting the alleged violation 

21 for which such action is brought. 

22 (C) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining 

23 when an action is commenced under paragraph 

24 (3), (4), or (6) for the purposes of this para-
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1 graph, it shall be considered to be commenced 

2 on the date when the complaint is filed. 

3 (6) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY.— 

4 The district courts of the United States shall have 

5 jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an action brought 

6 by the Secretary— 

7 (A) to restrain violations of section 7 (in8 cluding a violation relating to rights provided 

9 under section 5), including the restraint of any 

10 withholding of payment of wages, salary, em11 ployment benefits, or other compensation, plus 

12 interest, found by the court to be due to em13 ployees eligible under this Act; or 

14 (B) to award such other equitable relief as 

15 may be appropriate, including employment, re16 instatement, and promotion. 

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

18 Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary 

19 on any litigation brought under paragraph (4) or 

20 (6). 

21 (8) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

22 AND LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any 

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

24 Government Accountability Office and the Library of 

25 Congress, the authority of the Secretary of Labor 
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1 under this subsection shall be exercised respectively 

2 by the Comptroller General of the United States and 

3 the Librarian of Congress. 

4 (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL AC5 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.—The powers, remedies, and 

6 procedures provided in the Congressional Accountability 

7 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) to the Board (as de8 fined in section 101 of that Act (2 U.S.C. 1301)), or any 

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

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 1312(a)(1)) shall be the powers, remedies, 

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

12 person, alleging an unlawful employment practice in viola13 tion of this Act against an employee described in section 

14 4(2)(A)(iii). 

15 (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE

16 3, UNITED STATES CODE.—The powers, remedies, and 

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

18 Code, to the President, the Merit Systems Protection 

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

20 412(a)(1) of that title, shall be the powers, remedies, and 

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

22 or any person, respectively, alleging an unlawful employ23 ment practice in violation of this Act against an employee 

24 described in section 4(2)(A)(iv). 
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1 (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF TITLE

2 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—The powers, remedies, and 

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

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

5 the Merit Systems Protection Board, or provided in that 

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

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

8 this Act provides to that agency, that Board, or any per9 son, respectively, alleging an unlawful employment prac10 tice in violation of this Act against an employee described 

11 in section 4(2)(A)(v). 

12 SEC. 9. GAO STUDY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

14 United States shall conduct a study to determine the fol15 lowing: 

16 (1) The number of days employees used paid 

17 sick leave including— 

18 (A) the number of employees who used 

19 paid sick leave annually; 

20 (B) both the number of consecutive days, 

21 and total days, employees used paid sick leave 

22 for their illnesses, or illnesses of— 

23 (i) a child; 

24 (ii) a spouse; 

25 (iii) a parent; or 
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1 (iv) any other individual; and 

2 (C) the number of employees who used 

3 paid sick leave for leave periods covering more 

4 than 3 consecutive workdays. 

5 (2) Whether employees used paid sick leave to 

6 care for illnesses or conditions caused by domestic 

7 violence against the employees or their family mem8 bers. 

9 (3) The cost to employers of implementing paid 

10 sick leave policies. 

11 (4) The benefits to employers of implementing 

12 the policies, including improvements in retention and 

13 absentee rates and productivity. 

14 (5) The cost to employees of providing certifi15 cation issued by a health care provider to obtain 

16 paid sick leave. 

17 (6) The benefits of paid sick leave to employees 

18 and their family members. 

19 (7) Whether the provision of paid sick leave has 

20 affected the ability of employees to care for their 

21 family members. 

22 (8) Whether and in what way the provision of 

23 paid sick leave affected the ability of employees to 

24 provide for their health needs. 
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1 (9) Whether the provision of paid sick leave af2 fected the ability of employees to sustain an ade3 quate income while meeting health needs of the em4 ployees and their family members. 

5 (10) Whether employers who administered paid 

6 sick leave policies prior to the date of enactment of 

7 this Act were affected by the provisions of this Act. 

8 (11) Whether other types of leave were affected 

9 by this Act including whether this Act affected— 

10 (A) paid vacation leave; 

11 (B) paid family or medical leave; or 

12 (C) personal leave. 

13 (12) Whether paid sick leave affected retention 

14 and turnover. 

15 (13) Whether paid sick leave increased the use 

16 of less costly preventive medical care and lowered 

17 the use of emergency room care. 

18 (14) Whether paid sick leave reduced the num19 ber of children sent to school when the children were 

20 sick. 

21 (15) Whether paid sick leave reduced the costs 

22 of presenteeism for employers. 

23 (b) AGGREGATING DATA.—The data collected under 

24 paragraphs (1), (2), and (7) of subsection (a) shall be ag-
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1 gregated by gender, race, disability, earnings level, age, 

2 marital status, and family type, including parental status. 

3 (c) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp6 troller General of the United States shall prepare 

7 and submit a report to the appropriate committees 

8 of Congress concerning the results of the study con9 ducted pursuant to subsection (a) and the data ag10 gregated under subsection (b). 

11 (2) FOLLOWUP REPORT.—Not later that 5 

12 years after the date of enactment of this Act the 

13 Comptroller General of the United States shall pre14 pare and submit a followup report to the appropriate 

15 committees of Congress concerning the results of the 

16 study conducted pursuant to subsection (a) and the 

17 data aggregated under subsection (b). 

18 SEC. 10. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

19 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE ANTIDISCRIMINATION

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

21 or affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimina22 tion on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, 

23 sex, age, or disability. 

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

25 shall be construed to supersede any provision of any State 
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1 or local law that provides greater paid sick leave or other 

2 leave rights than the rights established under this Act. 

3 SEC. 11. EFFECT ON EXISTING EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. 

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

5 be construed to diminish the obligation of an employer to 

6 comply with any contract, collective bargaining agreement, 

7 or any employment benefit program or plan that provides 

8 greater paid sick leave rights to employees than the rights 

9 established under this Act. 

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

11 employees under this Act shall not be diminished by any 

12 contract, collective bargaining agreement, or any employ13 ment benefit program or plan. 

14 SEC. 12. ENCOURAGEMENT OF MORE GENEROUS LEAVE 

15 POLICIES. 

16 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage 

17 employers from adopting or retaining leave policies more 

18 generous than policies that comply with the requirements 

19 of this Act. 

20 SEC. 13. REGULATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) AUTHORITY.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), not later than 120 days after the date of 

24 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe 

25 such regulations as are necessary to carry out this 
36 

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

2 or (ii) of section 4(2)(A). 

3 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE; LI4 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—The Comptroller General of 

5 the United States and the Librarian of Congress 

6 shall prescribe the regulations with respect to em7 ployees of the Government Accountability Office and 

8 the Library of Congress, respectively. 

9 (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL AC10 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.— 

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

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

13 of Directors of the Office of Compliance shall pre14 scribe (in accordance with section 304 of the Con15 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

16 1384)) such regulations as are necessary to carry 

17 out this Act with respect to employees described in 

18 section 4(2)(A)(iii). 

19 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

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

21 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec22 retary to carry out this Act except insofar as the 

23 Board may determine, for good cause shown and 

24 stated together with the regulations prescribed 

25 under paragraph (1), that a modification of such 
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1 regulations would be more effective for the imple2 mentation of the rights and protections involved 

3 under this section. 

4 (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE

5 3, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

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

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Presi8 dent (or the designee of the President) shall pre9 scribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out 

10 this Act with respect to employees described in sec11 tion 4(2)(A)(iv). 

12 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

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

14 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec15 retary to carry out this Act except insofar as the 

16 President (or designee) may determine, for good 

17 cause shown and stated together with the regula18 tions prescribed under paragraph (1), that a modi19 fication of such regulations would be more effective 

20 for the implementation of the rights and protections 

21 involved under this section. 

22 (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF TITLE

23 5, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

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

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 
38 

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1 of the Office of Personnel Management shall pre2 scribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out 

3 this Act with respect to employees described in sec4 tion 4(2)(A)(v). 

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 Di9 rector 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 SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

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

17 after the date of issuance of regulations under section 

18 13(a)(1). 

19 (b) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—In the 

20 case of a collective bargaining agreement in effect on the 

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

22 take effect on the earlier of— 

23 (1) the date of the termination of such agree24 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