I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4178
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that periods of
leave required to be permitted by the Family and Medical Leave Act
of 1993 shall be treated as hours of service for purposes of the pension
participation and vesting rules.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 25, 1998
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee
on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined 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 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide
that periods of leave required to be permitted by the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 shall be treated
as hours of service for purposes of the pension participa-
tion and vesting rules.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Family Leave Pension
Relief Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. PERIODS OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE TREAT-
ED AS HOURS OF SERVICE FOR PENSION
PARTICIPATION AND VESTING.
(a) AMENDMENTS OF INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—
(1) PARTICIPATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of sec-
tion 410(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to minimum participation stand-
ards) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(E) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE TREAT-
ED AS SERVICE.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of
this subsection, in the case of an individual
who is absent from work on leave required
to be given to such individual under the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993,
the plan shall treat as hours of service—
‘‘(I) the hours of service which
otherwise would normally have been
credited to such individual but for
such absence, or
‘‘(II) in any case in which the
plan is unable to determine the hours
described in subclause (I), 8 hours of
service per day of absence.
‘‘(ii) YEAR
TO
WHICH
HOURS
ARE
CREDITED.—The hours described in clause
(i) shall be treated as hours of service as
provided in this subparagraph—
‘‘(I) only in the year in which the
absence from work begins, if a partici-
pant would have a year of service sole-
ly because the period of absence is
treated as hours of service as provided
in clause (i); or
‘‘(II) in any other case, in the
immediately following year.’’
(B) COORDINATION WITH TREATMENT OF
MATERNITY AND PATERNITY ABSENCES UNDER
BREAK IN SERVICE RULES.—Subparagraph (E)
of section 410(a)(5) of such Code is amended—
(i) by inserting ‘‘NOT UNDER FAMILY
AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993’’ after
‘‘ABSENCES’’ in the heading, and
(ii) by adding at the end of clause (i)
the following new sentence: ‘‘The preceding
sentence shall apply to an absence from
work only if no part of such absence is re-
quired to be given under the Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993.’’
(2) VESTING.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (5) of sec-
tion 411(a) of such Code (relating to minimum
vesting standards) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(E) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE TREAT-
ED AS SERVICE.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of
this subsection, in the case of an individual
who is absent from work on leave required
to be given to such individual under the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993,
the plan shall treat as hours of service—
‘‘(I) the hours of service which
otherwise would normally have been
credited to such individual but for
such absence, or
‘‘(II) in any case in which the
plan is unable to determine the hours
described in subclause (I), 8 hours of
service per day of absence.
‘‘(ii) YEAR
TO
WHICH
HOURS
ARE
CREDITED.—The hours described in clause
(i) shall be treated as hours of service as
provided in this subparagraph—
‘‘(I) only in the year in which the
absence from work begins, if a partici-
pant would have a year of service sole-
ly because the period of absence is
treated as hours of service as provided
in clause (i); or
‘‘(II) in any other case, in the
immediately following year.’’
(B) COORDINATION WITH TREATMENT OF
MATERNITY AND PATERNITY ABSENCES UNDER
BREAK IN SERVICE RULES.—Subparagraph (E)
of section 411(a)(6) of such Code is amended—
(i) by inserting ‘‘NOT UNDER FAMILY
AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993’’ after
‘‘ABSENCES’’ in the heading, and
(ii) by adding at the end of clause (i)
the following new sentence: ‘‘The preceding
sentence shall apply to an absence from
work only if no part of such absence is re-
quired to be given under the Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993.’’
(b) AMENDMENTS OF ERISA.—
(1) PARTICIPATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of sec-
tion 202(a) of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (relating to minimum par-
ticipation standards) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(E)(i) For purposes of this subsection, in the case
of an individual who is absent from work on leave required
to be given to such individual under the Family and Medi-
cal Leave Act of 1993, the plan shall treat as hours of
service—
‘‘(I) the hours of service which otherwise would
normally have been credited to such individual but
for such absence, or
‘‘(II) in any case in which the plan is unable to
determine the hours described in subclause (I), 8
hours of service per day of absence.
‘‘(ii) The hours described in clause (i) shall be treated
as hours of service as provided in this subparagraph—
‘‘(I) only in the year in which the absence from
work begins, if a participant would have a year of
service solely because the period of absence is treat-
ed as hours of service as provided in clause (i); or
‘‘(II) in any other case, in the immediately fol-
lowing year.’’
(B) COORDINATION WITH TREATMENT OF
MATERNITY AND PATERNITY ABSENCES UNDER
BREAK IN SERVICE RULES.—Subparagraph (A)
(2) such plan shall not fail to meet the require-
ments of section 411(d)(6) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 or section 204(g) of the Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 by reason of
such amendment.
(b) AMENDMENTS TO WHICH SECTION APPLIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall apply to
any amendment to any plan which is made—
(A) pursuant to any amendment made by
section 2, and
(B) before the first day of the first plan
year beginning on or after January 1, 2000.
In the case of a governmental plan (as defined in
section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986), this paragraph shall be applied by substitut-
ing ‘‘2001’’ for ‘‘2000’’.
(2) CONDITIONS.—This section shall not apply
to any amendment unless—
(A) during the period—
(i) beginning on the date the legisla-
tive amendment described in paragraph
(1)(A) takes effect (or in the case of a plan
amendment not required by such legislative
amendment, the effective date specified by
the plan), and
(ii) ending on the date described in
paragraph (1)(B) (or, if earlier, the date
the plan amendment is adopted),
the plan is operated as if such plan amendment
were in effect, and
(B) such plan amendment applies retro-
actively for such period.
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