[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2823 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2823
To provide paid family and medical leave benefits to certain
individuals, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 16, 2025
Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Alsobrooks, Ms. Baldwin,
Mr. Bennet, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Booker, Mr. Coons,
Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Gallego, Ms. Hassan, Mr.
Heinrich, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Kim, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lujan, Mr.
Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Reed,
Ms. Rosen, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Schumer, Mrs.
Shaheen, Ms. Slotkin, Ms. Smith, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Warnock, Ms.
Warren, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide paid family and medical leave benefits to certain
individuals, 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 the ``Family and Medical Insurance Leave
Act'' or the ``FAMILY Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Caregiving hour.--
(A) In general.--The term ``caregiving hour''
means, with respect to an individual, a 1-hour period
during which the individual engaged in qualified
caregiving.
(B) Limitations.--With respect to any benefit
period, an individual may not exceed a number of
caregiving hours equal to 12 times the number of hours
in a regular workweek of the individual (as determined
under subparagraph (C)).
(C) Number of hours in a regular workweek.--For
purposes of this Act, the number of hours in a regular
workweek of an individual shall be the number of hours
that the individual regularly works in a week for all
employers or as a self-employed individual (or
regularly worked in the case of an individual who is no
longer working or whose total weekly hours of work have
been reduced) during the month before the individual's
benefit period begins (or prior to such month, if
applicable in the case of an individual who is no
longer working or whose total weekly hours of work have
been reduced).
(2) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means the
Commissioner of Social Security.
(3) Deputy commissioner.--The term ``Deputy Commissioner''
means the Deputy Commissioner who heads the Office of Paid
Family and Medical Leave established under section 3(a).
(4) Eligible individual.--The term ``eligible individual''
means an individual who is entitled to a benefit under section
4 for a particular month, upon filing an application for such
benefit for such month.
(5) National average wage index.--The term ``national
average wage index'' has the meaning given such term in section
209(k)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 409(k)(1)).
(6) Qualified caregiving.--
(A) In general.--The term ``qualified caregiving''
means any activity engaged in by an individual, other
than regular employment, for a qualifying reason.
(B) Qualifying reason.--
(i) In general.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the term ``qualifying
reason'' means any of the following reasons for
taking leave:
(I) Any reason for which an
eligible employee would be entitled to
leave under subparagraph (A), (B), or
(E) of paragraph (1) of section 102(a)
of the Family and Medical Leave Act of
1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)).
(II) In order to care for a
qualified family member of the
individual, if such qualified family
member has a serious health condition.
(III) Because of a serious health
condition that makes the individual
unable to perform the services required
under the terms of their regular
employment.
(IV) Because the individual, or a
qualified family member, is a victim of
family violence or a qualifying act of
violence, if the leave is for the
individual to do any of the following
or to assist the individual's qualified
family member to, as a result of such
violence, do any of the following:
(aa) Seek, receive, or
secure counseling.
(bb) Seek or secure
temporary or permanent
relocation or take steps to
secure an existing home.
(cc) Seek, receive, or
follow up on assistance from a
victim services organization or
agency providing services to
victims.
(dd) Seek legal assistance
or attend legal proceedings,
including preparation for or
participation in any related
administrative, civil, or
criminal legal proceedings or
other related activities.
(ee) Seek medical attention
for physical or psychological
injury or disability caused or
aggravated by the qualifying
act of violence.
(ff) Enroll in a new school
or care arrangement.
(gg) Take other steps
necessary to protect or restore
their physical, mental,
emotional, spiritual, and
economic well-being or the
well-being of a qualified
family member recovering from a
qualifying act of violence.
(ii) Qualified family member; serious
health condition.--In this subparagraph:
(I) Qualified family member.--The
term ``qualified family member'' means,
with respect to an individual--
(aa) a spouse (including a
domestic partner in a civil
union or other registered
domestic partnership recognized
by a State) or a parent of such
spouse;
(bb) a child (regardless of
age) or a child's spouse;
(cc) a parent or a parent's
spouse;
(dd) a sibling or a
sibling's spouse;
(ee) a grandparent, a
grandchild, or a spouse of a
grandparent or grandchild; and
(ff) any other individual
who is related by blood or
affinity and whose association
with the employee is equivalent
of a family relationship.
(II) Serious health condition.--The
term ``serious health condition'' has
the meaning given such term in section
101(11) of the Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(11)).
(iii) Treatment of individuals covered by
legacy state comprehensive paid leave
program.--
(I) In general.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), an activity engaged
in by an individual shall not be
considered as other than regular
employment if, for the time during
which the individual was so engaged,
the individual is taking leave from
covered employment under the law of a
legacy State (as defined in section
4(c)).
(II) Unemployed.--In the case of an
individual who is no longer employed,
such individual shall be treated, for
purposes of clause (i), as taking leave
from covered employment under the law
of a legacy State (as so defined) with
respect to the portion of the time
during which the individual was engaged
in an activity for a qualifying reason
corresponding to the share of the
individual's workweek that was in
covered employment under the law of a
legacy State (as so defined).
(C) Other definitions.--For purposes of this
paragraph:
(i) Child.--The term ``child'' means,
regardless of age, a biological, foster, or
adopted child, a stepchild, a child of a
domestic partner, a legal ward, or a child of a
person standing in loco parentis.
(ii) Domestic partner.--
(I) In general.--The term
``domestic partner'', with respect to
an individual, means another individual
with whom the individual is in a
committed relationship.
(II) Committed relationship
defined.--The term ``committed
relationship'' means a relationship
between 2 individuals, each at least 18
years of age, in which each individual
is the other individual's sole domestic
partner and both individuals share
responsibility for a significant
measure of each other's common welfare.
The term includes any such relationship
between 2 individuals, including
individuals 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.
(iii) Dating violence.--The term ``dating
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)).
(iv) 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 reference in such section to
the term ``jurisdiction receiving grant
funding'' shall be deemed to mean the
jurisdiction in which the victim lives or the
jurisdiction in which the employer involved is
located.
(v) Parent.--The term ``parent'' means a
biological, 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 person who stood in
loco parentis to an employee when the employee
was a child.
(vi) Qualifying act of violence.--The term
``qualifying act of violence'' means an act,
conduct, or pattern of conduct that could
constitute any of the following:
(I) Dating violence.
(II) Domestic violence.
(III) Family violence.
(IV) Sexual assault.
(V) Sex trafficking.
(VI) Stalking.
(VII) Other forms of gender-based
violence or harassment.
(VIII) An act, conduct, or pattern
of conduct--
(aa) in which an individual
causes or threatens to cause
bodily injury or death to
another individual;
(bb) in which an individual
exhibits, draws, brandishes, or
uses a firearm, or other
dangerous weapon, with respect
to another individual; or
(cc) in which an individual
uses, or makes a reasonably
perceived or actual threat to
use, force against another
individual to cause bodily
injury or death.
(vii) Sexual assault.--The term ``sexual
assault'' has the meaning given the term in
section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women
Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)).
(viii) Sex trafficking.--The term ``sex
trafficking'' has the meaning given the term in
section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women
Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)).
(ix) Spouse.--The term ``spouse'', with
respect to an employee, has the meaning given
such term by the marriage laws of the State in
which the marriage was celebrated.
(x) Stalking.--The term ``stalking'' has
the meaning given the term in section 40002(a)
of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34
U.S.C. 12291(a)).
(xi) Victim services organization.--The
term ``victim services organization'' means a
nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that
provides assistance to victims of qualifying
acts of violence or advocates for such victims,
including--
(I) a rape crisis center;
(II) an organization carrying out a
prevention or treatment program for
qualifying acts of violence;
(III) an organization operating a
shelter or providing counseling
services; and
(IV) a legal services organization
or other organization providing
assistance through the legal process.
(7) Self-employment income.--The term ``self-employment
income'' has the same meaning as such term in section 211(b) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 411(b)).
(8) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the
United States or the District of Columbia or any territory or
possession of the United States.
(9) Wages.--The term ``wages'' has the meaning given such
term in section 3121(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
for purposes of the taxes imposed by sections 3101(b) and
3111(b) of such Code (without regard to section 3121(u)(2)(C)
of such Code), except that such term also includes--