[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1131 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1131
To establish family and medical leave banks to provide paid leave for
employees of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 10, 2019
Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Rounds) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish family and medical leave banks to provide paid leave for
employees of the Department of Defense, 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. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE BANKS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 6387 as section 6388; and
(2) by inserting after section 6386 the following:
``Sec. 6387. Department of Defense family and medical leave banks
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `covered DOD employee' means an individual
described in section 6381(1)(A) who is employed by the
Department, without regard to whether the individual meets the
requirements of section 6381(1)(B);
``(2) the term `Department' means the Department of
Defense;
``(3) the term `designated unit' means any agency,
component, or other administrative unit of the Department
designated by the Secretary under subsection (b)(1);
``(4) the term `family and medical leave bank' means a
family and medical leave bank established under subsection
(b)(2);
``(5) the term `leave recipient' means a covered DOD
employee whose application under subsection (e)(1) to receive
leave from a family and medical leave bank is approved; and
``(6) the term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Defense.
``(b) Establishment of Family and Medical Leave Banks.--The
Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, shall--
``(1) designate the agencies, components, or other
administrative units of the Department for which it is
appropriate to have a separate family and medical leave bank;
and
``(2) establish a family and medical leave bank for each
designated unit.
``(c) Establishment of Family and Medical Leave Bank Boards.--
``(1) In general.--For each family and medical leave bank
established by the Secretary, the Secretary shall establish a
Family and Medical Leave Bank Board consisting of 3 members, at
least one of whom shall represent a labor organization or
employee group, to administer the family and medical leave
bank, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management.
``(2) Duties.--Each Family and Medical Leave Bank Board, in
conjunction with the human resource office for the agency,
component, or administrative unit for which the applicable
family and medical leave bank was established, shall--
``(A) review and determine whether to approve
applications to the family and medical leave bank under
subsection (e)(1);
``(B) monitor each case of a leave recipient;
``(C) monitor the amount of leave in the family and
medical leave bank and the number of applications for
use of leave from the family and medical leave bank;
and
``(D) maintain an adequate amount of leave in the
family and medical leave bank to the greatest extent
practicable.
``(3) Qualifying family and medical events.--To the
greatest extent practicable, each Family and Medical Leave Bank
Board shall use the certification forms and standards
established for purposes of section 6382 in determining
whether, for purposes of this section, a circumstance described
in section 6382(a)(1) exists.
``(d) Crediting of Leave.--
``(1) Forfeited leave.--Any annual leave lost by a covered
DOD employee by operation of section 6304 shall be credited to
the family and medical leave bank of the designated unit in
which the covered DOD employee is employed.
``(2) Additional annual leave contributions.--This section
shall not supersede or modify the ability of a covered DOD
employee to donate earned annual leave to a qualified recipient
under regulations of the Department.
``(3) Contributions of use or lose leave.--
``(A) In general.--A covered DOD employee who is
projected to have annual leave that otherwise would be
subject to forfeiture at the end of the leave year
under section 6304 may submit an application in writing
requesting that a specified number of hours (not to
exceed the number of hours projected to be subject to
forfeiture) be transferred from the annual leave
account of the covered DOD employee to the family and
medical leave bank for the designated unit in which the
covered DOD employee is employed.
``(B) Approval.--If a Family and Medical Leave Bank
Board approves an application by a covered DOD employee
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall transfer to
the family and medical leave bank of the designated
unit in which the covered DOD employee is employed the
amount of leave requested to be transferred.
``(e) Application for Leave.--
``(1) In general.--A covered DOD employee who is or
anticipates being absent from regularly scheduled duty because
of a circumstance described in section 6382(a)(1) (without
regard to whether the covered DOD employee is entitled to leave
under section 6382(a)(1)) may submit an application to receive
leave from the family and medical leave bank of the designated
unit in which the covered DOD employee is employed, which shall
contain such information as the Secretary, in consultation with
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall by
regulation prescribe.
``(2) Determination.--A Family and Medical Leave Bank Board
may--
``(A) approve an application submitted under
paragraph (1); and
``(B) specify the amount of leave that shall be
transferred to a covered DOD employee whose application
is approved.
``(3) Maximum amount of leave.--
``(A) In general.--A Family and Medical Leave Bank
Board may not specify an amount of leave to be
transferred to a covered DOD employee that is more than
the amount of leave described in subparagraph (B).
``(B) Amount.--The amount described in this
subparagraph is--
``(i) with respect to a full-time covered
DOD employee, 12 weeks; and
``(ii) with respect to a part-time covered
DOD employee, the amount equal to the product
obtained by multiplying--
``(I) 12 weeks; by
``(II) the quotient obtained by
dividing--
``(aa) the number of hours
in the regularly scheduled
workweek of the part-time
covered DOD employee; by
``(bb) the number of hours
in the regularly scheduled
workweek of a covered DOD
employee serving in a
comparable position on a full-
time basis.
``(4) Transfer.--The Secretary shall transfer to a covered
DOD employee whose application is approved under paragraph
(2)(A) the number of hours of leave specified under paragraph
(2)(B) from the family and medical leave bank for the
designated unit in which the covered DOD employee is employed.
``(f) Use of Leave.--
``(1) Coordination with existing fml.--A leave recipient
who is entitled to leave under section 6382(a)(1) shall use any
leave transferred to the leave recipient from a family and
medical leave bank in accordance with section 6382(d)(2).
``(2) Failure to use leave.--
``(A) In general.--Any leave transferred to a leave
recipient from a family and medical leave bank that is
not used before the end of the 12-month period
beginning on the date described in subparagraph (B)--
``(i) shall be forfeited by the leave
recipient; and
``(ii) shall be credited to the family and
medical leave bank from which the leave was
transferred.
``(B) Start of period for use.--The date described
in this subparagraph is the later of--
``(i) the date on which the circumstance
described in section 6382(a)(1) arises; or
``(ii) the date on which leave is
transferred to the covered DOD employee under
subsection (e)(4).''.
(b) Use of Family and Medical Leave.--Section 6382(d) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``An employee may elect''
the first place it appears; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2)(A) In this paragraph, the term `covered DOD employee' has the
meaning given that term in section 6387.
``(B) A covered DOD employee entitled to leave under subsection
(a)(1) to whom leave is transferred from a family and medical leave
bank under section 6387--
``(i) shall substitute for any leave without pay under
subsection (a)(1) the amount of leave transferred to the
employee from the family and medical leave bank; and
``(ii) may substitute for any leave without pay under
subsection (a)(1) any annual or sick leave accrued or
accumulated by such employee under subchapter I.
``(C) A covered DOD employee to whom leave is transferred from a
family and medical leave bank shall first use all of the transferred
leave before using leave described in subparagraph (B)(ii).
``(D) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall
prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out this paragraph.''.
(c) OPM Authority.--If the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management determines expanding the family and medical leave bank
program Governmentwide would be appropriate, the Director may prescribe
regulations granting Executive agencies (as defined in section 105 of
title 5, United States Code) the authority to establish family and
medical leave banks, in the same manner as provided under the
amendments made by subsections (a) and (b), to the maximum extent
practicable.
(d) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking the
item relating to section 6387 and inserting the following:
``6387. Department of Defense family and medical leave banks.
``6388. Regulations.''.
<all>
A bill to establish family and medical leave banks to provide paid leave for employees of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.
#1131 | S Congress #116
Policy Area: Government Operations and Politics
Last Action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (4/10/2019)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text