SB 385

Introduction

This bill expands the family and medical leave law to permit an employee

covered under that law to take family leave to care for a grandparent, grandchild, or

sibling, lowers the threshold number of employees above which an employer must

permit an employee to take family or medical leave, and establishes a family and

medical leave insurance program under which certain covered individuals may

receive benefits while taking family or medical leave.

Family and medical leave expansion

Under current law, an employer, including the state, that employs at least 50

individuals on a permanent basis in this state must permit an employee who has

been employed by the employer for more than 52 consecutive weeks and who has

worked for the employer for at least 1,000 hours during the preceding 52 weeks to

take up to eight weeks of family leave in a 12-month period for the birth or adoptive

placement of a child or to care for a child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner of the

employee or a parent of the spouse of the employee who has a serious health

condition; and up to two weeks of medical leave in a 12-month period when the

employee has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform

the employee's employment duties.

This bill requires an employer, including the state, that employs at least 25

employees on a permanent basis in this state to permit an employee to take family

or medical leave as provided under current law. The bill also permits an employee

to take family leave as provided under current law to care for a grandparent,

grandchild, or sibling of the employee who has a serious health condition. In

addition, the bill requires an employer to permit an employee to take family leave

because of any qualifying exigency, as determined by the Department of Workforce

Development (DWD) by rule, arising out of the fact that the spouse, child, domestic

partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the employee is on

deployment with the U.S. armed forces to a foreign country (covered active duty) or

has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty.

Family and medical leave insurance program

The bill creates a family and medical leave insurance program, to be

administered by DWD, under which a covered individual who is on family or medical

leave is eligible, beginning on January 1, 2020, to receive up to 12 weeks of family

or medical leave insurance benefits as specified in the bill from the family and

medical leave insurance trust fund created under the bill (trust fund). For purposes

of the bill:

1. A "covered individual" is an individual who worked for an employer for at

least 680 hours in the calendar year prior to the year in which the covered individual

claims family or medical leave insurance benefits (application year) or a

self-employed individual who elects coverage under the program, regardless of