I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1286 
To allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can address their 
own health needs and the health needs of their families. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 20, 2013 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. GENE GREEN of 
Texas, Mr. NADLER, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MARKEY, 
Mr. RUSH, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. 
EDWARDS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PAL-
LONE, Mr. MORAN, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. CARO-
LYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SERRANO, 
Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CARSON 
of Indiana, Mr. HONDA, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. CHU, Mr. TONKO, Ms. 
BROWN of Florida, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. 
MENG, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA´N of New Mexico, Mr. LAN-
GEVIN, Mr. CLAY, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, 
Mr. LYNCH, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. GEORGE MIL-
LER of California, Mr. POLIS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 
SHERMAN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. ESTY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. CLEAVER, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. HIMES, Mrs. 
CAPPS, Mr. PETERS of Michigan, Mr. POCAN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, 
Ms. HAHN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. WILSON of 
Florida, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. COHEN, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, 
Ms. CLARKE, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. SWALWELL of California, 
Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. HOLT, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. DANNY K. 
DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. KEATING, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. 
SPEIER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. ROYBAL- 
ALLARD, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. LOF-
GREN, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. MATSUI, and Ms. TITUS) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House 
Administration and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
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A BILL 
To allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they 
can address their own health needs and the health needs 
of their families. 
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 ‘‘Healthy Families Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Working Americans need time to meet their 
own health care needs and to care for family mem-
bers, including their children, spouse, domestic part-
ner, parents (including parents-in-law), and other 
children and adults for whom they are caregivers. 
(2) Health care needs include preventive health 
care, diagnostic procedures, medical treatment, and 
recovery in response to short- and long-term ill-
nesses and injuries. 
(3) Providing employees time off to meet health 
care needs ensures that they will be healthier in the 
long run. Preventive care helps avoid illnesses and 
injuries and routine medical care helps detect ill-
nesses early and shorten their duration. A 2012 
study published by BioMed Central Public Health of 
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results of the National Health Interview Survey 
found that lack of paid sick leave is a barrier to re-
ceiving cancer screenings and preventive care. Work-
ers with paid sick leave were more likely to have a 
mammogram, Pap test, or endoscopy, and were 
more likely to have visited a doctor in the previous 
year, than workers without paid sick leave, even 
when the results were adjusted for sociodemographic 
factors. 
(4) When parents are available to care for their 
children who become sick, children recover faster, 
more serious illnesses are prevented, and children’s 
overall mental and physical health improve. In a 
2009 study published in the American Journal of 
Public Health, 81 percent of parents of a child with 
special health care needs reported that taking leave 
from work to be with their child had a ‘‘good’’ or 
‘‘very good’’ effect on their child’s physical health. 
Similarly, 85 percent of parents of such a child 
found that taking such leave had a ‘‘good’’ or ‘‘very 
good’’ effect on their child’s emotional health. 
(5) When parents cannot afford to miss work 
and must send children with contagious illnesses to 
child care centers or schools, infection can spread 
rapidly through child care centers and schools. 
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(6) Providing paid sick time improves public 
health by reducing infectious disease. Policies that 
make it easier for sick adults and children to be iso-
lated at home reduce the spread of infectious dis-
ease. A 2012 study published in the American Jour-
nal of Public Health found that a lack of workplace 
policies like paid sick days contributed to an addi-
tional 5,000,000 cases of influenza-like illness dur-
ing the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. 
(7) Routine medical care reduces medical costs 
by detecting and treating illness and injury early, 
decreasing the need for emergency care. These sav-
ings benefit public and private payers of health in-
surance, including private businesses. A 2011 study 
by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found 
that a universal paid sick days policy would reduce 
preventable visits to the emergency room and result 
in cost savings of $1,100,000,000 per year, includ-
ing $500,000,000 in savings for public health insur-
ance like Medicaid. 
(8) The provision of individual and family sick 
time by large and small businesses, both here in the 
United States and elsewhere, demonstrates that pol-
icy solutions are both feasible and affordable in a 
competitive economy. A 2009 study by the Center 
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for Economic and Policy Research found that, of 22 
countries with comparable economies, the United 
States was 1 of only 3 countries that did not provide 
any paid time off for workers with short-term ill-
nesses. 
(9) Measures that ensure that employees are in 
good health and do not need to worry about unmet 
family health problems help businesses by promoting 
productivity and reducing employee turnover. 
(10) The American Productivity Audit com-
pleted in 2003 found that lost productivity due to ill-
ness costs $226,000,000,000 annually, and that 71 
percent of that cost stems from presenteeism, the 
practice of employees coming to work despite illness. 
Studies in the Journal of Occupational and Environ-
mental Medicine, the Employee Benefit News, and 
the 
Harvard 
Business 
Review 
show 
that 
presenteeism is a larger productivity drain than ei-
ther absenteeism or short-term disability. 
(11) Working while sick also increases a work-
er’s probability of suffering an injury on the job. A 
2012 study published by the American Journal of 
Public Health found that workers with access to 
paid sick leave were 28 percent less likely than 
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workers without paid sick leave to suffer nonfatal 
occupational injuries. 
(12) The absence of paid sick time has forced 
Americans to make untenable choices between need-
ed income and jobs on the one hand and caring for 
their own and their family’s health on the other. 
(13) Nearly 40 percent of the private sector 
workforce, and 25 percent of the public sector work-
force, lacks paid sick time. Another 4,000,000 theo-
retically have access to sick time, but have not been 
on the job long enough to use it. Millions more lack 
sick time they can use to care for a sick child or ill 
family member. 
(14)(A) Workers’ access to paid sick time varies 
dramatically by wage level. 
(B) For private sector workers— 
(i) for workers in the lowest quartile of 
earners, 71 percent lack paid sick time; 
(ii) for workers in the next 2 quartiles, 36 
and 25 percent, respectively, lack paid sick 
time; and 
(iii) even for workers in the highest quar-
tile, 16 percent lack paid sick time. 
(C) For public sector workers— 
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(i) for workers in the lowest quartile of 
earners, 25 percent lack paid sick time; 
(ii) for workers in the next 2 quartiles, 7 
percent lack paid sick time; and 
(iii) for workers in the highest quartile, 2 
percent lack paid sick time. 
(D) In addition, millions of workers cannot use 
paid sick time to care for ill family members. 
(15) Due to the roles of men and women in so-
ciety, the primary responsibility for family caregiving 
often falls on women, and such responsibility affects 
the working lives of women more than it affects the 
working lives of men. 
(16) An increasing number of men are also tak-
ing on caregiving obligations, and men who request 
paid time for caregiving purposes are often denied 
accommodation or penalized because of stereotypes 
that caregiving is only ‘‘women’s work’’. 
(17) Employers’ reliance on persistent stereo-
types about the ‘‘proper’’ roles of both men and 
women in the workplace and in the home continues 
a cycle of discrimination and fosters stereotypical 
views about women’s commitment to work and their 
value as employees. 
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(18) Employment standards that apply to only 
one gender have serious potential for encouraging 
employers to discriminate against employees and ap-
plicants for employment who are of that gender. 
(19) It is in the national interest to ensure that 
all Americans can care for their own health and the 
health of their families while prospering at work. 
(20) Nearly 1 in 3 American women report 
physical or sexual abuse by a husband or boyfriend 
at some point in their lives. Domestic violence also 
affects men. Women account for about 85 percent of 
the victims of domestic violence and men account for 
approximately 15 percent of the victims. Therefore, 
women disproportionately need time off to care for 
their health or to find solutions, such as obtaining 
a restraining order or finding housing, to avoid or 
prevent physical or sexual abuse. 
(21) One study showed that 85 percent of do-
mestic violence victims at a women’s shelter who 
were employed missed work because of abuse. The 
mean number of days of paid work lost by a rape 
victim is 8.1 days, by a victim of physical assault is 
7.2 days, and by a victim of stalking is 10.1 days. 
Nationwide, domestic violence victims lose almost 
8,000,000 days of paid work per year. 
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(22) Without paid sick days that can be used 
to address the effects of domestic violence, these vic-
tims are in grave danger of losing their jobs. One 
survey found that 96 percent of employed domestic 
violence victims experienced problems at work re-
lated to the violence. The Government Accountability 
Office similarly found that 24 to 52 percent of vic-
tims report losing a job due, at least in part, to do-
mestic violence. The loss of employment can be par-
ticularly devastating for victims of domestic violence, 
who often need economic security to ensure safety. 
(23) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention has estimated that domestic violence costs 
over $700,000,000 annually due to the victims’ lost 
productivity in employment. 
(24) Efforts to assist abused employees result 
in positive outcomes for employers as well as em-
ployees because employers can retain workers who 
might otherwise be compelled to leave. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to ensure that all working Americans can 
address their own health needs and the health needs 
of their families by requiring employers to permit 
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employees to earn up to 56 hours of paid sick time 
including paid time for family care; 
(2) to diminish public and private health care 
costs by enabling workers to seek early and routine 
medical care for themselves and their family mem-
bers; 
(3) to assist employees who are, or whose fam-
ily members are, victims of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or stalking, by providing the employees with 
paid time away from work to allow the victims to re-
ceive treatment and to take the necessary steps to 
ensure their protection; 
(4) to address the historical and persistent 
widespread pattern of employment discrimination on 
the basis of gender by both private and public sector 
employers; 
(5) to accomplish the purposes described in 
paragraphs (1) through (4) in a manner that is fea-
sible for employers; and 
(6) consistent with the provision of the 14th 
Amendment to the Constitution relating to equal 
protection of the laws, and pursuant to Congress’ 
power to enforce that provision under section 5 of 
that Amendment— 
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(A) to accomplish the purposes described 
in paragraphs (1) through (4) in a manner that 
minimizes the potential for employment dis-
crimination on the basis of sex by ensuring gen-
erally that paid sick time is available for eligible 
medical reasons on a gender-neutral basis; and 
(B) to promote the goal of equal employ-
ment opportunity for women and men. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means a biologi-
cal, foster, or adopted child, a stepchild, a child of 
a domestic partner, a legal ward, or a child of a per-
son standing in loco parentis, who is— 
(A) under 18 years of age; or 
(B) 18 years of age or older and incapable 
of self-care because of a mental or physical dis-
ability. 
(2) DOMESTIC PARTNER.—The term ‘‘domestic 
partner’’ means the person recognized as being in a 
relationship with an employee under any domestic 
partnership, civil union, or similar law of the State 
or political subdivision of a State in which the em-
ployee resides. 
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(3) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘domestic 
violence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 
1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)), except that the ref-
erence in such section to the term ‘‘jurisdiction re-
ceiving grant monies’’ shall be deemed to mean the 
jurisdiction in which the victim lives or the jurisdic-
tion in which the employer involved is located. 
(4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 
an individual who is— 
(A)(i) an employee, as defined in section 
3(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 203(e)), who is not covered under 
subparagraph (E), including such an employee 
of the Library of Congress, except that a ref-
erence in such section to an employer shall be 
considered to be a reference to an employer de-
scribed in clauses (i)(I) and (ii) of paragraph 
(5)(A); or 
(ii) an employee of the Government Ac-
countability Office; 
(B) a State employee described in section 
304(a) of the Government Employee Rights Act 
of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); 
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(C) a covered employee, as defined in sec-
tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability 
Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301), other than an ap-
plicant for employment; 
(D) a covered employee, as defined in sec-
tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; or 
(E) a Federal officer or employee covered 
under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(5) EMPLOYER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 
means a person who is— 
(i)(I) a covered employer, as defined 
in subparagraph (B), who is not covered 
under subclause (V); 
(II) an entity employing a State em-
ployee described in section 304(a) of the 
Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; 
(III) an employing office, as defined 
in section 101 of the Congressional Ac-
countability Act of 1995; 
(IV) an employing office, as defined in 
section 411(c) of title 3, United States 
Code; or 
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(V) an employing agency covered 
under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 
5, United States Code; and 
(ii) is engaged in commerce (including 
government), or an industry or activity af-
fecting commerce (including government), 
as defined in subparagraph (B)(iii). 
(B) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—In subparagraph 
(A)(i)(I), the term ‘‘covered employer’’— 
(I) means any person engaged in 
commerce or in any industry or activ-
ity affecting commerce who employs 
15 or more employees for each work-
ing day during each of 20 or more 
calendar workweeks in the current or 
preceding calendar year; 
(II) includes— 
(aa) any person who acts, 
directly or indirectly, in the inter-
est of an employer to any of the 
employees of such employer; and 
(bb) any successor in inter-
est of an employer; 
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the Labor Management Relations Act, 
1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (1) and (3)). 
(II) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘em-
ployee’’ has the same meaning given 
such term in section 3(e) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
U.S.C. 203(e)). 
(III) PERSON.—The term ‘‘per-
son’’ has the same meaning given 
such term in section 3(a) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
U.S.C. 203(a)). 
(C) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in 
this paragraph to an employer shall include a 
reference to any predecessor of such employer. 
(6) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em-
ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 
made available to employees by an employer, includ-
ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 
insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational bene-
fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene-
fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 
an employer or through an ‘‘employee benefit plan’’, 
as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retire-
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ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
1002(3)). 
(7) HEALTH
CARE
PROVIDER.—The term 
‘‘health care provider’’ means a provider who— 
(A)(i) is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy 
who is authorized to practice medicine or sur-
gery (as appropriate) by the State in which the 
doctor practices; or 
(ii) is any other person determined by the 
Secretary to be capable of providing health care 
services; and 
(B) is not employed by an employer for 
whom the provider issues certification under 
this Act. 
(8) PAID
SICK
TIME.—The term ‘‘paid sick 
time’’ means an increment of compensated leave that 
can be earned by an employee for use during an ab-
sence from employment for any of the reasons de-
scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 
5(b). 
(9) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a bio-
logical, foster, or adoptive parent of an employee, a 
stepparent of an employee, parent-in-law, parent of 
a domestic partner, or a legal guardian or other per-
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son who stood in loco parentis to an employee when 
the employee was a child. 
(10) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Labor. 
(11) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as-
sault’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 
1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)). 
(12) SPOUSE.—The term ‘‘spouse’’, with re-
spect to an employee, has the meaning given such 
term by the marriage laws of the State in which the 
employee resides. 
(13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 3 of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 
(14) STALKING.—The term ‘‘stalking’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of the 
Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
13925(a)). 
(15) VICTIM
SERVICES
ORGANIZATION.—The 
term ‘‘victim services organization’’ means a non-
profit, nongovernmental organization that provides 
assistance to victims of domestic violence, sexual as-
sault, or stalking or advocates for such victims, in-
cluding a rape crisis center, an organization carrying 
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out a domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking 
prevention or treatment program, an organization 
operating a shelter or providing counseling services, 
or a legal services organization or other organization 
providing assistance through the legal process. 
SEC. 5. PROVISION OF PAID SICK TIME. 
(a) ACCRUAL OF PAID SICK TIME.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—An employer shall permit 
each employee employed by the employer to earn not 
less than 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours 
worked, to be used as described in subsection (b). 
An employer shall not be required to permit an em-
ployee to earn, under this section, more than 56 
hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless 
the employer chooses to set a higher limit. 
(2) EXEMPT EMPLOYEES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (3), for purposes of this section, an 
employee who is exempt from overtime require-
ments under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)) 
shall be assumed to work 40 hours in each 
workweek. 
(B) SHORTER
NORMAL
WORKWEEK.—If 
the normal workweek of such an employee is 
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less than 40 hours, the employee shall earn 
paid sick time based upon that normal work 
week. 
(3) DATES OF ACCRUAL AND USE.—Employees 
shall begin to earn paid sick time under this section 
at the commencement of their employment. An em-
ployee shall be entitled to use the earned paid sick 
time beginning on the 60th calendar day following 
commencement of the employee’s employment. After 
that 60th calendar day, the employee may use the 
paid sick time as the time is earned. An employer 
may, at the discretion of the employer, loan paid 
sick time to an employee in advance of the earning 
of such time under this section by such employee. 
(4) CARRYOVER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), paid sick time earned under 
this section shall carry over from 1 calendar 
year to the next. 
(B) CONSTRUCTION.—This Act shall not 
be construed to require an employer to permit 
an employee to accrue more than 56 hours of 
earned paid sick time at a given time. 
(5) EMPLOYERS
WITH
EXISTING
POLICIES.— 
Any employer with a paid leave policy who makes 
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available an amount of paid leave that is sufficient 
to meet the requirements of this section and that 
may be used for the same purposes and under the 
same conditions as the purposes and conditions out-
lined in subsection (b) shall not be required to per-
mit an employee to earn additional paid sick time 
under this section. 
(6) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 
shall be construed as requiring financial or other re-
imbursement to an employee from an employer upon 
the employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, 
or other separation from employment for earned 
paid sick time that has not been used. 
(7) REINSTATEMENT.—If an employee is sepa-
rated from employment with an employer and is re-
hired, within 12 months after that separation, by the 
same employer, the employer shall reinstate the em-
ployee’s previously earned paid sick time. The em-
ployee shall be entitled to use the earned paid sick 
time and earn additional paid sick time at the re-
commencement of employment with the employer. 
(8) PROHIBITION.—An employer may not re-
quire, as a condition of providing paid sick time 
under this Act, that the employee involved search for 
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or find a replacement worker to cover the hours dur-
ing which the employee is using paid sick time. 
(b) USES.—Paid sick time earned under this section 
may be used by an employee for any of the following: 
(1) An absence resulting from a physical or 
mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the 
employee. 
(2) An absence resulting from obtaining profes-
sional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive med-
ical care, for the employee. 
(3) An absence for the purpose of caring for a 
child, a parent, a spouse, a domestic partner, or any 
other individual related by blood or affinity whose 
close association with the employee is the equivalent 
of a family relationship, who— 
(A) has any of the conditions or needs for 
diagnosis or care described in paragraph (1) or 
(2); and 
(B) in the case of someone who is not a 
child, is otherwise in need of care. 
(4) An absence resulting from domestic vio-
lence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the time is to— 
(A) seek medical attention for the em-
ployee or the employee’s child, parent, spouse, 
domestic partner, or an individual related to the 
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01:52 Mar 27, 2013
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