Title: Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act  This bill provides employees with up to 12 weeks paid leave for a qualifying purpose during a public-health emergency with respect to the coronavirus (i.e., the virus that causes COVID-19). Specifically, an employee may use such leave if the employee is
Public health emergency leave is not available to employees who work an intermittent or reduced work schedule. An employee may substitute available accrued leave for public health emergency leave, but an employer may not require an employee to make such substitution.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6220 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6220

To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide for leave 
   with respect to a public health emergency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 12, 2020

Mr. Scott of Virginia (for himself, Ms. Adams, Mr. Takano, and Mrs. Lee 
  of Nevada) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on 
  Oversight and 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 to provide for leave 
   with respect to a public health emergency, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``Emergency Family and Medical Leave 
Expansion Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993.

    (a) Public Health Emergency Leave.--Section 102(a)(1) of the Family 
and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) During the 2-year period beginning on the 
                date of the enactment of the Emergency Family and 
                Medical Leave Expansion Act, because of a qualifying 
                need related to a public health emergency in accordance 
                with section 110.''.
    (b) Requirements.--Title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 
1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 110. PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY LEAVE.

    ``(a) Definitions.--The following shall apply with respect to leave 
under section 102(a)(1)(F):
            ``(1) Application of certain terms.--The definitions in 
        section 101 shall apply, except as follows:
                    ``(A) Eligible employee.--In lieu of the definition 
                in section 101(4)(A), the term `eligible employee' 
                means an employee who has been employed for at least 30 
                days by the employer with respect to whom leave is 
                requested under section 102(a)(1)(F).
                    ``(B) Employer threshold.--Section 101(4)(A)(i) 
                shall be applied by substituting `1 or more employees' 
                for `50 or more employees for each working day during 
                each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or 
                preceding calendar year'.
                    ``(C) Parent.--In lieu of the definition in section 
                101(7), the term `parent', with respect to an employee, 
                means any of the following:
                            ``(i) A biological, foster, or adoptive 
                        parent of the employee.
                            ``(ii) A stepparent of the employee.
                            ``(iii) A parent-in-law of the employee.
                            ``(iv) A parent of a domestic partner of 
                        the employee.
                            ``(v) A legal guardian or other person who 
                        stood in loco parentis to an employee when the 
                        employee was a child.
            ``(2) Additional definitions.--In addition to the 
        definitions described in paragraph (1), the following 
        definitions shall apply with respect to leave under section 
        102(a)(1)(F):
                    ``(A) Qualifying need related to a public health 
                emergency.--The term `qualifying need related to a 
                public health emergency', with respect to leave, means 
                the employee has a need for leave for one of the 
                following:
                            ``(i) To comply with a recommendation or 
                        order by a public official having jurisdiction 
                        or a health care provider on the basis that--
                                    ``(I) the physical presence of the 
                                employee on the job would jeopardize 
                                the health of others because of--
                                            ``(aa) the exposure of the 
                                        employee to coronavirus; or
                                            ``(bb) exhibition of 
                                        symptoms of coronavirus by the 
                                        employee; and
                                    ``(II) the employee is unable to 
                                both perform the functions of the 
                                position of such employee and comply 
                                with such recommendation or order.
                            ``(ii) To care for a family member of an 
                        eligible employee with respect to whom a public 
                        official having jurisdiction or a health care 
                        provider makes a determination that the 
                        presence of the family member in the community 
                        would jeopardize the health of other 
                        individuals in the community because of--
                                    ``(I) the exposure of such family 
                                member to coronavirus; or
                                    ``(II) exhibition of symptoms of 
                                coronavirus by such family member.
                            ``(iii) To care for the son or daughter of 
                        such employee if the school or place of care 
                        has been closed, or the child care provider of 
                        such son or daughter is unavailable, due to a 
                        public health emergency.
                    ``(B) Public health emergency.--The term `public 
                health emergency' means an emergency with respect to 
                coronavirus declared by a Federal, State, or local 
                authority.
                    ``(C) Child care provider.--The term `child care 
                provider' means a provider who receives compensation 
                for providing child care services on a regular basis, 
                including an `eligible child care provider' (as defined 
                in section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block 
                Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n)).
                    ``(D) Coronavirus.--The term `coronavirus' has the 
                meaning given the term in section 506 of the 
                Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental 
                Appropriations Act, 2020.
                    ``(E) School.--The term `school' means an 
                `elementary school' or `secondary school' as such terms 
                are defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
                    ``(F) Family.--The term `family member', with 
                respect to an employee, means any of the following:
                            ``(i) A parent of the employee.
                            ``(ii) A spouse of the employee.
                            ``(iii) A sibling of the employee.
                            ``(iv) Next of kin of the employee or a 
                        person for whom the employee is next of kin.
                            ``(v) A son or daughter of the employee.
                            ``(vi) A grandparent or grandchild of the 
                        employee.
    ``(b) Leave Taken Intermittently or On a Reduced Work Schedule.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), leave taken 
        under section 102(a)(1)(F) may not be taken intermittently or 
        on a reduced work schedule.
            ``(2) Care for son or daughter.--Paragraph (1) shall not 
        apply with respect to leave taken for the purpose described in 
        subsection (a)(2)(A)(iii) if the son or daughter of the 
        employee with respect to whom the subsection applies has not 
        been exposed to coronavirus.
    ``(c) Relationship to Paid Leave.--
            ``(1) In general.--An employee may elect to substitute any 
        of the accrued vacation leave, personal leave, or medical or 
        sick leave for leave under section 102(a)(1)(F) in accordance 
        with section 102(d)(2)(B).
            ``(2) Employer requirement.--An employer may not require an 
        employee to substitute any leave as described in paragraph (1) 
        for leave under section 102(a)(1)(F).
    ``(d) Notice.--In any case where the necessity for leave under 
section 102(a)(1)(F) for the purpose described in subsection 
(a)(2)(A)(iii) is foreseeable, an employee shall provide the employer 
with such notice of leave as is practicable.
    ``(e) Certification.--
            ``(1) In general.--An employer may require that a request 
        for leave under section 102(a)(1)(F) be supported by 
        documentation described in paragraph (2). An employer may not 
        require such documentation until not later than 3 weeks after 
        the date on which the employee takes such leave.
            ``(2) Sufficient certification.--The following 
        documentation shall be sufficient certification:
                    ``(A) With respect to leave taken for the purposes 
                described in clause (i) or (ii) of subsection 
                (a)(2)(A)--
                            ``(i) a recommendation or order from a 
                        public official having jursidiction or a health 
                        care provider that the relevant individual has 
                        symptoms of coronavirus or should be 
                        quarantined; or
                            ``(ii) documentation or evidence that the 
                        relevant individual has been exposed to 
                        coronavirus.
                    ``(B) With respect to leave taken for the purposes 
                described in clause (iii) of subsection (a)(2)(A), 
                notice from the school, place of care, or child care 
                provider of the son or daughter of the employee of 
                closure or unavailability.
    ``(f) Restoration to Position.--
            ``(1) In general.--Section 104(a)(1) shall not apply with 
        respect to an employee of an employer who employs fewer than 25 
        employees if the conditions described in paragraph (2) are met.
            ``(2) Conditions.--The conditions described in this 
        paragraph are the following:
                    ``(A) The employee takes leave under section 
                102(a)(1)(F).
                    ``(B) The position held by the employee when the 
                leave commenced does not exist due to economic 
                conditions or other changes in operating conditions of 
                the employer--
                            ``(i) that affect employment; and
                            ``(ii) are caused by a public health 
                        emergency during the period of leave.
                    ``(C) The employer makes reasonable efforts to 
                restore the employee to a position equivalent to the 
                position the employee held when the leave commenced, 
                with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other 
                terms and conditions of employment.
                    ``(D) If the reasonable efforts of the employer 
                under subparagraph (C) fail, the employer makes 
                reasonable efforts during the period described in 
                paragraph (3) to contact the employee if an equivalent 
                position described in subparagraph (C) becomes 
                available.
            ``(3) Contact period.--The period described under this 
        paragraph is the 1-year period beginning on the earlier of--
                    ``(A) the date on which the qualifying need related 
                to a public health emergency concludes; or
                    ``(B) the date that is 12 weeks after the date on 
                which the employee's leave under section 102(a)(1)(F) 
                commences.''.
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