I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3151 

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

States Code, to allow employees leave to address domestic violence, sexual 

assault, or stalking and their effects, and to include leave to care for 

domestic partners under the Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 11, 2011 

Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mrs. MALONEY, and Ms. 

MCCOLLUM) 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 leave 

to address domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

and their effects, and to include leave to care for domestic partners under the Act, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Domestic Violence 

5 Leave Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE FOR DOMESTIC VIO2 LENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY FOR LEAVE.—Section 102(a)(1) of 

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

5 2612(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(F) In order to care for the family mem8 ber of the employee, if such family member is 

9 addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, or 

10 stalking and their effects. 

11 ‘‘(G) Because the employee is addressing 

12 domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

13 and their effects, the employee is unable to per14 form any of the functions of the position of 

15 such employee.’’. 

16 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 101 of such Act (29 

17 U.S.C. 2611) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(20) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domes20 tic violence’ has the meaning given such term in sec21 tion 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 

22 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925), and includes dating vio23 lence, as such term is defined in such section. 

24 ‘‘(21) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as25 sault’ has the meaning given that term in section 


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1 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 

2 (42 U.S.C. 13925). 

3 ‘‘(22) STALKING.—The term ‘stalking’ has the 

4 meaning given such term in section 40002 of the Vi5 olence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

6 13925). 

7 ‘‘(23) ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEX8 UAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING AND THEIR EFFECTS.— 

9 The term ‘addressing domestic violence, sexual as10 sault, or stalking and their effects’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) seeking medical attention for or re12 covering from injuries caused by domestic vio13 lence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

14 ‘‘(B) seeking legal assistance or remedies, 

15 including communicating with the police or an 

16 attorney, or participating in any legal pro17 ceeding related to domestic violence, sexual as18 sault, or stalking; 

19 ‘‘(C) attending support groups for victims 

20 of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

21 ‘‘(D) obtaining psychological counseling re22 lated to experiences of domestic violence, sexual 

23 assault, or stalking; 

24 ‘‘(E) participating in safety planning and 

25 other actions to increase safety from future doVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:57 Oct 12, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3151.IH H3151

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1 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in2 cluding temporary or permanent relocation; and 

3 ‘‘(F) participating in any other activity ne4 cessitated by domestic violence, sexual assault, 

5 or stalking which must be undertaken during 

6 hours of employment. 

7 ‘‘(24) FAMILY MEMBER.—The term ‘family 

8 member’, used with respect to a person, means an 

9 individual who is a spouse, domestic partner, parent, 

10 son, or daughter (including an adult son or daugh11 ter) of that person.’’. 

12 (c) INTERMITTENT OR REDUCED LEAVE.—Section 

13 102(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2612(b)) is amended by 

14 inserting before the last sentence: ‘‘Subject to subsection 

15 (e)(4) and 103(g), leave under subparagraph (F) or (G) 

16 of subsection (a)(1) may be taken by an employee inter17 mittently or on a reduced leave schedule.’’. 

18 (d) PAID LEAVE.—Section 102(d)(2)(B) of such Act 

19 (29 U.S.C. 2612(d)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting at the 

20 end the following: ‘‘An eligible employee may elect to sub21 stitute any of the accrued paid vacation leave, personal 

22 leave, family leave, or medical or sick leave of the employee 

23 for leave provided under subparagraph (F) or (G) of sub24 section (a)(1) for any part of the 12-week period of such 

25 leave under such subsection, except that nothing in this 


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1 title shall require an employer to provide paid sick leave 

2 or paid medical leave in any situation in which such em3 ployer would not normally provide any such paid leave.’’. 

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

5 2612(e)), by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) NOTICE FOR LEAVE DUE TO DOMESTIC VI7 OLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.—In any 

8 case in which the necessity for leave under subpara9 graph (F) or (G) of subsection (a)(1) is foreseeable 

10 based on a scheduled appointment or planned activ11 ity to address domestic violence, sexual assault, or 

12 stalking and their effects, the employee shall provide 

13 such notice to the employer as is reasonable and 

14 practicable.’’. 

15 (f) CERTIFICATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY.—Section 

16 103 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2613) is amended— 

17 (1) in the section heading, by adding before the 

18 period the following: ‘‘; confidentiality’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION RELATED TO DOMESTIC VIO21 LENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining if an em23 ployee meets the requirements of subparagraph (F) 

24 or (G) of section 102(a)(1), the employer of an em25 ployee may require the employee to provide written 


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1 certification. Certification under this paragraph shall 

2 be sufficient if it includes— 

3 ‘‘(A) documentation of the domestic vio4 lence, sexual assault, or stalking, such as police 

5 or court records, or documentation of the do6 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking from 

7 a shelter worker, attorney, clergy, or medical or 

8 other professional from whom the employee or 

9 family member of the employee has sought as10 sistance in addressing domestic violence, sexual 

11 assault, or stalking and their effects; 

12 ‘‘(B) other corroborating evidence, such as 

13 a statement from any other individual with 

14 knowledge of the circumstances which provide 

15 the basis for the claim, or physical evidence of 

16 domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 

17 such as photographs, or torn or bloody clothes; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(C) at the election of the employee, where 

20 documentation described in subparagraph (A) 

21 and corroborating evidence described in sub22 paragraph (B) is not available, a written state23 ment describing the domestic violence, sexual 

24 assault, or stalking and their effects. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All evidence of do2 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking provided 

3 to an employer under this subsection, including an 

4 employee’s statement, any corroborating evidence, 

5 and the fact that an employee has requested leave 

6 for the purpose of addressing domestic violence, sex7 ual assault, or stalking and their effects, shall be re8 tained in the strictest confidence by the employer, 

9 except to the extent consented to by the employee 

10 where disclosure is necessary to— 

11 ‘‘(A) protect the safety of the employee or 

12 family member of the employee; or 

13 ‘‘(B) assist in documenting domestic vio14 lence, sexual assault, or stalking for a court or 

15 law enforcement agency.’’. 

16 (g) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

17 section 1(b) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 

18 (29 U.S.C. prec. 2601) is amended by striking the item 

19 relating to section 103 and inserting the following: 

‘‘103. Certification; confidentiality.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF SAME-SEX SPOUSES AND DOMESTIC 

21 PARTNERS. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

23 (1) INCLUSION OF SAME-SEX SPOUSES.—Sec24 tion 101(13) of the Family and Medical Leave Act 

25 of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(13)) is amended, by insertVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:57 Oct 12, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3151.IH H3151

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1 ing ‘‘, and, notwithstanding section 7 of title I, 

2 United States Code, includes a spouse of the same 

3 sex as the employee as determined under applicable 

4 State law’’ before the period. 

5 (2) INCLUSION CHILDREN OF A DOMESTIC

6 PARTNER.—Section 101(12) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

7 2611(12)) is amended by inserting ‘‘a child of an in8 dividual’s domestic partner,’’ after ‘‘a legal ward,’’. 

9 (3) INCLUSION DOMESTIC PARTNERS.—Section 

10 101 of such Act (as amended by section 2) is further 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(25) DOMESTIC PARTNER.—The term ‘domes13 tic partner’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) the person recognized as the domestic 

15 partner of the employee under any domestic 

16 partner registry or civil union laws of the State 

17 or political subdivision of a State where the em18 ployee resides; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of an unmarried employee 

20 who resides in a State where a person cannot 

21 marry a person of the same sex under the laws 

22 of the State, a single, unmarried adult person 

23 of the same sex as the employee who is in a 

24 committed, intimate relationship with the em25 ployee, is not a domestic partner to any other 


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1 person, and who is designated to the employer 

2 by such employee as that employee’s domestic 

3 partner.’’. 

4 (b) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 102 of such Act 

5 (29 U.S.C. 2612) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(C), by striking 

7 ‘‘spouse,’’ both places it appears and inserting 

8 ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(E), by striking spouse, 

10 and inserting ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘spouse,’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘do14 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; 

15 (5) in subsection (e)(3), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

16 partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; and 

17 (6) in subsection (f)— 

18 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

19 ‘‘OR DOMESTIC PARTNERS’’ after ‘‘SPOUSES’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a hus21 band and wife’’ and inserting ‘‘both spouses or 

22 both domestic partners’’; 

23 (C) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘that 

24 husband and wife’’ and inserting ‘‘spouses or 

25 both domestic partners’’; and 


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1 (D) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘the 

2 husband and wife’’ and inserting ‘‘both spouses 

3 or both domestic partners’’. 

4 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 103 of such Act (29 

5 U.S.C. 2613) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

7 partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by inserting ‘‘do9 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’ both places it ap10 pears; and 

11 (3) in subsection (b)(7), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

12 partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’. 

13 (d) EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS PROTECTION.— 

14 Section 104(c)(3) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2614(c)(3)) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting ‘‘do17 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; and 

18 (2) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by inserting ‘‘do19 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’. 

20 SEC. 4. ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE FOR FEDERAL EMPLOY21 EES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXUAL AS22 SAULT, OR STALKING. 

23 (a) AUTHORITY FOR LEAVE.—Section 6382(a)(1) of 

24 title 5, United States Code is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(E) In order to care for the family member of 

2 the employee, if such family member is addressing 

3 domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and 

4 their effects. 

5 ‘‘(F) Because the employee is addressing do6 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their 

7 effects, the employee is unable to perform any of the 

8 functions of the position of such employee.’’. 

9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 6381 of title 5, United 

10 States Code is amended— 

11 (1) at the end of paragraph (10), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period 

14 and inserting a semicolon; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(12) the terms ‘domestic violence’, ‘sexual as17 sault’, and ‘stalking’ all have the meaning given such 

18 terms in section 40002 of the Violence Against 

19 Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925), and the 

20 term ‘domestic violence’ includes dating violence, as 

21 such term is defined in such section; 

22 ‘‘(13) the term ‘addressing domestic violence, 

23 sexual assault, or stalking and their effects’ 

24 means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) seeking medical attention for or re2 covering from injuries caused by domestic vio3 lence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

4 ‘‘(B) seeking legal assistance or remedies, 

5 including communicating with the police or an 

6 attorney, or participating in any legal pro7 ceeding related to domestic violence, sexual as8 sault, or stalking; 

9 ‘‘(C) attending support groups for victims 

10 of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

11 ‘‘(D) obtaining psychological counseling re12 lated to experiences of domestic violence, sexual 

13 assault, or stalking; 

14 ‘‘(E) participating in safety planning and 

15 other actions to increase safety from future do16 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in17 cluding temporary or permanent relocation; and 

18 ‘‘(F) participating in any other activity ne19 cessitated by domestic violence, sexual assault, 

20 or stalking which must be undertaken during 

21 hours of employment; 

22 ‘‘(14) the term ‘family member’, used with re23 spect to a person, means an individual who is a 

24 spouse, domestic partner, parent, son or daughter 


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1 (including an adult son or daughter) of that per2 son;’’. 

3 (c) INTERMITTENT OR REDUCED LEAVE.—Section 

4 6382(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) Leave under subparagraph (E) or (F) of 

7 subsection (a)(1) may be taken by an employee 

8 intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule. The 

9 taking of leave intermittently or on a reduced leave 

10 schedule pursuant to this paragraph shall not result 

11 in a reduction in the total amount of leave to which 

12 the employee is entitled under subsection (a) beyond 

13 the amount of leave actually taken.’’. 

14 (d) OTHER LEAVE.—Section 6382(d) of title 5, 

15 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘(C), or (D)’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘(C), (D), (E), or (F)’’. 

17 (e) NOTICE.—Section 6282(e) of title 5, United 

18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(3) In any case in which the necessity for 

21 leave under subparagraph (F) or (G) of subsection 

22 (a)(1) is foreseeable based on a scheduled appoint23 ment or planned activity to address domestic vio24 lence, sexual assault, or stalking and their effects, 


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1 the employee shall provide such notice to the em2 ploying agency as is reasonable and practicable.’’. 

3 (f) CERTIFICATION.—Section 6383 of title 5, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(f) In determining if an employee meets the require7 ments of subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 6382(a)(1), 

8 the employing agency of an employee may require the em9 ployee to provide written certification. Certification under 

10 this subsection shall be sufficient if it includes— 

11 ‘‘(1) documentation of the domestic violence, 

12 sexual assault, or stalking, such as police or court 

13 records, or documentation of the domestic violence, 

14 sexual assault, or stalking from a shelter worker, at15 torney, clergy, or medical or other professional from 

16 whom the employee or family member of the em17 ployee has sought assistance in addressing domestic 

18 violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their effects; 

19 ‘‘(2) other corroborating evidence, such as a 

20 statement from any other individual with knowledge 

21 of the circumstances which provide the basis for the 

22 claim, or physical evidence of domestic violence, sex23 ual assault, or stalking, such as photographs or torn 

24 or bloody clothes; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) at the election of the employee, where doc2 umentation described in paragraph (1) and corrobo3 rating evidence described in paragraph (2) is not 

4 available, a written statement describing the domes5 tic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their ef6 fects.’’. 

7 (g) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Section 6383 of title 5, 

8 United States Code, as amended by subsection (f), is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in the section heading, by adding before the 

11 period the following: ‘‘; confidentiality’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(g) All evidence of domestic violence, sexual assault, 

14 or stalking provided to an employing agency under this 

15 subsection, including an employee’s statement, any cor16 roborating evidence, and the fact that an employee has 

17 requested leave for the purpose of addressing domestic vio18 lence, sexual assault, or stalking and their effects, shall 

19 be retained in the strictest confidence by the employing 

20 agency, except to the extent consented to by the employee 

21 where disclosure is necessary to— 

22 ‘‘(1) protect the safety of the employee or fam23 ily member of the employee; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) assist in documenting domestic violence, 

2 sexual assault, or stalking for a court or law enforce3 ment agency.’’. 

4 (h) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

5 chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

6 striking the item relating to section 6383 and inserting 

7 the following: 

‘‘6383. Certification; confidentiality.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF SAME-SEX SPOUSES AND DOMESTIC 

9 PARTNERS FOR LEAVE FOR FEDERAL EM10 PLOYEES. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 6381 of title 5, United 

12 States Code, as amended by section 4, is further amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘a child of 

15 an individual’s domestic partner,’’ after ‘‘a legal 

16 ward,’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(15) the term ‘spouse’ means a husband or 

19 wife, as the case may be, and, notwithstanding sec20 tion 7 of title I, United States Code, includes a 

21 spouse of the same sex as the employee as deter22 mined under applicable State law; and 

23 ‘‘(16) the term ‘domestic partner’ means— 

24 ‘‘(A) the person recognized as the domestic 

25 partner of the employee under any domestic 


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1 partner registry or civil union laws of the State 

2 or political subdivision of a State where the em3 ployee resides; or 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of an unmarried employee 

5 who resides in a State where a person cannot 

6 marry a person of the same sex under the laws 

7 of the State, a single, unmarried adult person 

8 of the same sex as the employee who is in a 

9 committed, intimate relationship with the em10 ployee, is not a domestic partner to any other 

11 person, and who is designated to the employing 

12 agency by such employee as that employee’s do13 mestic partner.’’. 

14 (b) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 6382 of title 5, 

15 United States Code, is further amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(C), by striking 

17 ‘‘spouse,’’ both places it appears and inserting 

18 ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘spouse,’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘spouse or domestic partner,’’; and 

21 (3) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘do22 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’. 

23 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 6383 of title 5, United 

24 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

2 partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by inserting ‘‘do4 mestic partner,’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’ both places it ap5 pears. 

Æ 


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