I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2465 
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 
APRIL 13, 2021 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, 
Mrs. AXNE, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BERA, Mr. 
BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 
BOWMAN, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BROWN, Ms. 
BROWNLEY, Ms. BUSH, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Ms. 
CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. 
CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, 
Mr. COOPER, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. CROW, Mr. DANNY K. 
DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. 
DEMINGS, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. MI-
CHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FOS-
TER, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illi-
nois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. 
HOULAHAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JONES, Mr. KAHELE, 
Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 
KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. 
KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LAMB, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSEN of Wash-
ington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAWSON of 
Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. LEVIN of 
Michigan, Mr. LIEU, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MALINOWSKI, 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY 
of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOV-
ERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. 
MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. NORCROSS, 
Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PA-
NETTA, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 
PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PORTER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. PRICE of North 
Carolina, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. ROSS, 
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 
RYAN, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, 
Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. 
SCHRIER, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. 
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SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. 
THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. 
TORRES of California, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. 
TRONE, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WATERS, 
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. WILLIAMS of 
Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. YARMUTH, and Ms. SHERRILL) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on House Adminis-
tration, and Oversight and Reform, 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 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 people need time to meet their own 
health care needs and to care for family members. 
The absence of paid sick time has forced working 
people to make untenable choices between needed in-
come and jobs on the one hand and caring for their 
own and their family’s health on the other. It is in 
the national interest to ensure that all working peo-
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ple can care for their own health and the health of 
their families while prospering at work. 
(2) Twenty-nine percent of the private sector 
workforce and 9 percent of the public sector work-
force lack paid sick time. Millions more theoretically 
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 fam-
ily member. 
(3) Working people without paid sick days are 
more likely to go to work sick and delay or forgo 
needed health care. A 2016 study in the journal 
Health Affairs found that working adults without 
paid sick days are 3 times more likely to forgo med-
ical care for themselves, and 1.6 times more likely 
to forgo medical care for their family, compared to 
working adults with paid sick days. Lack of paid 
sick days is also a barrier to receiving annual health 
screenings and preventive care, according to a 2017 
study in the American Journal of Nursing. 
(4) Nearly 1 in 4 parents without paid sick 
time reports sending a sick child to school or child 
care because the parent has to go to work. When 
children go to school and child care sick, they risk 
their own health and that of other children, teach-
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ers, and administrators. Research suggests that 
schools play a key role in transmitting contagious ill-
nesses like influenza. 
(5) A 2012 study published in the American 
Journal of Public Health found that a lack of work-
place policies like paid sick days contributed to an 
additional 5,000,000 cases of influenza-like illness 
during the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. 
(6) A National Bureau of Economic Research 
analysis examining influenza rates following the im-
plementation of comprehensive paid sick time laws 
in 7 major cities in the United States found that 
when workers gained access to paid sick time in 
those cities, the general influenza rate in the popu-
lation decreased by 5.5 to 6.5 percent. This analysis 
estimates that those laws helped prevent about 100 
influenza-like infections per week for every 100,000 
people. 
(7) Paid sick days contribute to more cost-effec-
tive use of health care resources. 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-
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ing $500,000,000 in savings for public health insur-
ance programs like Medicare and Medicaid. 
(8) The American Productivity Audit completed 
in 2003 found that lost productivity due to illness 
costs $226,000,000,000 ($308,000,000,000 in 2019 
dollars) annually, and that 71 percent of that cost 
stems from presenteeism—the practice of employees 
coming to work while ill. Studies in the Journal of 
Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the 
Journal of the American Medical Association show 
that presenteeism is a larger productivity drain than 
either absenteeism or short-term disability. 
(9) Working while sick also increases a worker’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 workers with-
out paid sick leave to suffer nonfatal occupational 
injuries. 
(10) Workers’ access to paid sick time varies 
dramatically by wage level, as demonstrated by the 
following: 
(A) For private sector workers— 
(i) for workers in the lowest quartile 
of earners, 55 percent lack paid sick time; 
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(ii) for workers in the next 2 quar-
tiles, 27 and 17 percent, respectively, lack 
paid sick time; and 
(iii) even for workers in the highest 
quartile, 10 percent lack paid sick time. 
(B) For public sector workers— 
(i) for workers in the lowest quartile 
of earners, 21 percent lack paid sick time; 
(ii) for workers in the next 2 quar-
tiles, 5 and 3 percent, respectively, lack 
paid sick time; and 
(iii) for workers in the highest quar-
tile, 5 percent lack paid sick time. 
(11) Workers’ access to paid sick days also var-
ies depending on their occupation and race. For ex-
ample, more than 80 percent of workers in food 
preparation and serving occupations lack access to 
paid sick days, compared to only 23 percent of work-
ers in management occupations. More than half of 
Latino workers and nearly half of Native American 
or Alaskan Native workers do not have access to 
paid sick days, compared to nearly 40 percent of 
White and Black workers. 
(12) According to the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, more than 1 in 3 women and 
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more than 1 in 4 men in the United States report 
having experienced rape, physical abuse, or some 
form of unwanted sexual contact at some point in 
their lives. Women and men of color are even more 
likely to report being impacted by intimate partner 
violence. Too many people, and especially women, 
are forced to risk losing their jobs or critical income 
when they need to take time away from work to ad-
dress domestic-violence-related issues, such as ob-
taining a restraining order or finding housing, in 
order to avoid or prevent physical or sexual abuse. 
(13) Without paid sick time that can be used 
to address the effects of domestic violence, these vic-
tims are in grave danger of losing their jobs. In a 
2018 survey of domestic violence survivors, nearly 3⁄4 
(73 percent) reported that financial problems forced 
them to remain with their abusers longer than they 
wanted or to return to their abusers after having 
left, and more than half (53 percent) said they lost 
a job because of the abuse. The loss of employment 
can be particularly devastating for victims of domes-
tic violence, who often need economic security to en-
sure safety. 
(14) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention has estimated that intimate partner violence 
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costs over $700,000,000 annually due to the victims’ 
lost productivity in employment. 
(15) A 2018 study published in the American 
Journal of Orthopsychiatry found that workers with-
out paid sick leave benefits have higher levels of psy-
chological distress and are 1.45 times more likely to 
report that their distress symptoms interfere ‘‘a lot’’ 
with their daily life activities. 
(16) 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. 
(17) Dozens of States, cities, and localities have 
or will soon have paid sick time laws in place and 
evidence shows that those laws are working well for 
workers, businesses, and the economy. 
(18) A 2009 study by the Center 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 illnesses. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to ensure that working people can address 
their own health needs and the health needs of their 
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families by requiring employers to permit 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 
health care for themselves and their family members; 
(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.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘domestic 
partner’’, with respect to an individual, means 
another individual with whom the individual is 
in a committed relationship. 
(B) 
COMMITTED
RELATIONSHIP
DE-
FINED.—The term ‘‘committed relationship’’ 
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means a relationship between 2 individuals, 
each at least 18 years of age, in which each in-
dividual is the other individual’s sole domestic 
partner and both individuals share responsi-
bility for a significant measure of each other’s 
common welfare. The term includes any such 
relationship between 2 individuals, including in-
dividuals of the same sex, that is granted legal 
recognition by a State or political subdivision of 
a State as a marriage or analogous relationship, 
including a civil union or domestic partnership. 
(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 (34 U.S.C. 12291(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. Such 
term also includes ‘‘dating violence’’, as that term is 
defined in such section. 
(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 
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(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)); 
(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— 
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(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 
(V) an employing agency covered 
under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 
5, United States Code; and 
(ii) 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 
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15 or more employees for each work-
ing day during each of 20 or more 
calendar workweeks in the current or 
preceding year; 
(II) means a smaller employer, as 
defined in subparagraph (C), to which 
the special rule in paragraph (3) of 
section 5(a) applies; 
(III) 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; 
(IV) includes any ‘‘public agen-
cy’’, as defined in section 3(x) of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 203(x)); and 
(V) includes the Government Ac-
countability Office and the Library of 
Congress. 
(ii) PUBLIC
AGENCY.—For purposes 
of clause (i)(IV), a public agency shall be 
considered to be a person engaged in com-
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merce or in an industry or activity affect-
ing commerce. 
(iii) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 
this subparagraph: 
(I) 
COMMERCE.—The 
terms 
‘‘commerce’’ and ‘‘industry or activity 
affecting commerce’’ mean any activ-
ity, business, or industry in commerce 
or in which a labor dispute would 
hinder or obstruct commerce or the 
free flow of commerce, and include 
‘‘commerce’’ and any ‘‘industry affect-
ing commerce’’, as defined in para-
graphs (1) and (3) of section 501 of 
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 
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(7) 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. 
(8) 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. 
(9) PROHIBITION.—An employer may not re-
quire, as a condition of providing paid sick time 
under this Act, that the employee involved search for 
or find a replacement employee to cover the hours 
during 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. 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—An employer may re-
quire that a request for paid sick time under 
this section for a purpose described in sub-
section (b)(4) be supported by any one of the 
following forms of documentation, but the em-
ployer may not specify the particular form of 
documentation to be provided: 
(i) A police report indicating that the 
employee, or a member of the employee’s 
family described in subsection (b)(4), was 
a victim of domestic violence, sexual as-
sault, or stalking. 
(ii) A court order protecting or sepa-
rating the employee or a member of the 
employee’s family described in subsection 
(b)(4) from the perpetrator of an act of 
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalk-
ing, or other evidence from the court or 
prosecuting attorney that the employee or 
a member of the employee’s family de-
scribed in subsection (b)(4) has appeared 
in court or is scheduled to appear in court 
in a proceeding related to domestic vio-
lence, sexual assault, or stalking. 
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