IIB 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5781 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 20 (legislative day, JUNE 19), 2008 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To provide that 8 of the 12 weeks of parental leave made 
available to a Federal employee shall be paid leave, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Employees 
Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE UNDER TITLE 5. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 5.—Subsection (d) of sec-
tion 6382 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by redesignating such subsection as sub-
section (d)(1); 
(2) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 
or’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C) or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) An employee may elect to substitute for any 
leave without pay under subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub-
section (a)(1) any paid leave which is available to such 
employee for that purpose. 
‘‘(3) The paid leave that is available to an employee 
for purposes of paragraph (2) is— 
‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (6), 4 administrative 
workweeks of paid parental leave under this sub-
paragraph in connection with the birth or placement 
involved; and 
‘‘(B) any annual or sick leave accrued or accu-
mulated by such employee under subchapter I. 
‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be considered 
to require that an employee first use all or any portion 
of the leave described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph 
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(3) before being allowed to use the paid parental leave de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3). 
‘‘(5) Paid parental leave under paragraph (3)(A)— 
‘‘(A) shall be payable from any appropriation or 
fund available for salaries or expenses for positions 
within the employing agency; 
‘‘(B) shall not be considered to be annual or va-
cation leave for purposes of section 5551 or 5552 or 
for any other purpose; and 
‘‘(C) if not used by the employee before the end 
of the 12-month period (as referred to in subsection 
(a)(1)) to which it relates, shall not accumulate for 
any subsequent use. 
‘‘(6) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment— 
‘‘(A) may promulgate regulations to increase 
the amount of paid parental leave available to an 
employee under paragraph (3)(A), to a total of not 
more than 8 administrative workweeks, based on the 
consideration of— 
‘‘(i) the benefits provided to the Federal 
Government of offering increased paid parental 
leave, including enhanced recruitment and re-
tention of employees; 
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‘‘(ii) the cost to the Federal Government of 
increasing the amount of paid parental leave 
that is available to employees; 
‘‘(iii) trends in the private sector and in 
State and local governments with respect to of-
fering paid parental leave; 
‘‘(iv) the Federal Government’s role as a 
model employer; and 
‘‘(v) such other factors as the Director 
considers necessary; and 
‘‘(B) shall prescribe any regulations necessary 
to carry out this subsection, including, subject to 
paragraph (4), the manner in which an employee 
may designate any day or other period as to which 
such employee wishes to use paid parental leave de-
scribed in paragraph (3)(A).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall not be effective with respect to any birth 
or placement occurring before the end of the 6-month pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE FOR CONGRESSIONAL EM-
PLOYEES. 
(a) AMENDMENT
TO CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNT-
ABILITY ACT.—Section 202 of the Congressional Account-
ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1312) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)(1), by adding at the end 
the following: ‘‘In applying section 102(a)(1)(A) and 
(B) of such Act to covered employees, subsection (d) 
shall apply.’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 
subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR PAID PARENTAL LEAVE 
FOR CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEES.— 
‘‘(1) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—A cov-
ered employee taking leave without pay under sub-
paragraph (A) or (B) of section 102(a)(1) of the 
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 
2612(a)(1)) may elect to substitute for any such 
leave any paid leave which is available to such em-
ployee for that purpose. 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAID LEAVE.—The paid leave 
that is available to a covered employee for purposes 
of paragraph (1) is— 
‘‘(A) the number of weeks of paid parental 
leave in connection with the birth or placement 
involved that correspond to the number of ad-
ministrative workweeks of paid parental leave 
available to Federal employees under section 
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6382(d)(3)(A) of title 5, United States Code; 
and 
‘‘(B) any additional paid vacation or sick 
leave provided by the employing office to such 
employee. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 
shall be considered to require that an employee first 
use all or any portion of the leave described in sub-
paragraph (B) of paragraph (2) before being allowed 
to use the paid parental leave described in subpara-
graph (A) of paragraph (2). 
‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL RULES.—Paid parental leave 
under paragraph (2)(A)— 
‘‘(A) shall be payable from any appropria-
tion or fund available for salaries or expenses 
for positions within the employing office; and 
‘‘(B) if not used by the covered employee 
before the end of the 12-month period (as re-
ferred to in section 102(a)(1) of the Family and 
Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 
2612(a)(1))) to which it relates, shall not accu-
mulate for any subsequent use.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall not be effective with respect to any birth 
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