Family and Medical Leave Act

“ Family and Medical Leave Rights and Protections Provided.—
(1) In general.— The rights and protections established by sections 101 through 105 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 shall apply to covered employees. ”

“ Effect on existing employment benefits. (a) More Protective.— Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act shall be construed to diminish the obligation of an employer to comply with any collective bargaining agreement or any employment benefit program or plan that provides greater family or medical leave rights to employees than the rights established under this Act or any amendment made by this Act. ”

“ That when you look around the world, you see every other major country providing health care to all people as a right, except the United States. You see every other major country saying to moms that, when you have a baby, we're not gonna separate you from your newborn baby, because we are going to have -- we are gonna have medical and family paid leave, like every other country on Earth. ”

“ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Access to paid and unpaid family leave in 2018, https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/access-to-paid-and-unpaid-family-leave-in-2018.htm (showing that 89 percent of civilian workers had access to unpaid family leave in 2018) . ↑ The Affordable Care Act requires non-grandfathered health plans in the individual and small group markets to cover certain essential health benefits, which includes maternity and newborn care. ”

“ It's not too late to build a legacy—to build on the legacy of family leave. We ought to invest in education, invest in our families, raise the minimum wage, target tax relief to raising children and educating them, protect the Medicare of our seniors, and protect the right of people to keep their health insurance if they change jobs or if someone in the family gets sick. These are the kind of things that are worthy of the legacy of family leave. We have to work hard so that we know that our families will be better off, so that we can make tomorrow better than today for every family. ”

“ Women deserve to be able to take time off to care for a new baby, an ailing parent, or take a sick day for themselves without running into hardship. So let’s make sure all Americans have access to paid family leave.
Pregnant workers deserve to be treated fairly. Even today, women can be fired for taking too many bathroom breaks, or forced on unpaid leave just for being pregnant. That’s wrong -- and we have to choose policies that ensure pregnant workers are treated with dignity and respect. ”

“ Second, Title VII as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act specifically requires that women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions be treated the same as others who are similar in their ability or inability to work. This means that a pregnant employee may be entitled to job modifications, including telework, changes to work schedules or assignments, and leave to the extent provided for other employees who are similar in their ability or inability to work. ”

“ The Director of the Office of Personnel Management is hereby delegated authority to prepare and submit to the Congress a report concerning the desirability, feasibility, and cost, if any, of permitting Federal employees voluntarily to donate annual and sick leave for the use of other Federal employees who need such leave for medical or family emergency or other hardship situations. ”

“ It's an outrage that 22 million working women currently do not have a single day of paid sick leave, and workers should not be forced to choose between foregoing pay to care for an ill family member or themselves and going to work when they should remain home. Other ways we can help include protecting against caregiver discrimination, providing low-income families with a refundable tax credit to help with their childcare expenses, and encouraging flexible work schedules. ”