H.R. 3481: FAMILY Act | Status, Votes, Lobbying

The FAMILY Act creates a national paid family and medical leave insurance program, administered by a new Office within the Social Security Administration, providing partial wage replacement to eligible individuals who take leave for qualifying reasons such as a serious health condition, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The program is funded by new payroll taxes on employees, employers, and self-employed individuals, deposited into a new Federal Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund.

Sec. 2, Definitions: Defines key terms including 'caregiving day' (a day of qualified caregiving, limited to 20 per month and 60 per benefit period), 'eligible individual', 'qualified caregiving' (activities for a qualifying reason), and 'qualifying reason' (reasons under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, caring for a qualified family member with a serious health condition, the individual's own serious health condition, or reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking). 'Qualified family member' includes a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, and other equivalent relationships.

Sec. 3, Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave: Establishes an Office within the Social Security Administration headed by a Deputy Commissioner appointed by the Commissioner of Social Security. The Deputy Commissioner is responsible for hiring personnel, issuing regulations, determining eligibility and benefit amounts, making payments, maintaining records, preventing fraud, providing information and notices to employers and the public, and conducting outreach.

Sec. 4, Family and Medical Leave Insurance Benefit Payments: Entitles individuals who file an application, have wages or self-employment income in a specified period, and meet a minimum earnings threshold ($2,000 in 2024, indexed thereafter) to a monthly benefit. The benefit amount is based on a formula using average monthly earnings (85% of earnings up to $1,257, 69% of earnings between $1,257 and $3,500, and 50% of earnings between $3,500 and $6,200, indexed after 2024), subject to a minimum and maximum, and prorated by the number of caregiving days in the month.

Sec. 5, Funding for State Administration Option for Legacy States: Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to 'legacy states' (states with existing paid family and medical leave laws enacted before this Act's enactment) that meet data sharing requirements. The grant amount is the lesser of estimated federal benefits that would have been paid in the state or the state's total cost of its own program, including employer-provided benefits and administrative costs (up to 7%).

Sec. 6, Establishment of Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund: Creates a trust fund in the U.S. Treasury to hold appropriations and tax revenues for the program. Authorizes appropriations for the first three fiscal years for administration, benefits, and grants, to be repaid within 10 years. Benefit payments and grants are made only from this trust fund.

Sec. 7, Internal Revenue Code Provisions: Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose new payroll taxes to fund the program: a 0.2% tax on employees and employers each on wages, and a 0.4% tax on self-employment income. Similar taxes are imposed on railroad employees and employers.

Sec. 8, Regulations: Directs the Commissioner, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, to prescribe regulations, considering input from a volunteer advisory body of up to 15 individuals appointed by the President and congressional leaders.

Sec. 9, GAO Study: Requires the Comptroller General to submit a report to Congress after 2024 on the program's first year, including the number of applications, processing times for initial determinations and appeals, and identification of any excessive delays.

Summary of the bill text as introduced in House (May 18, 2023), generated by SecBot from the official bill text; the Library of Congress summary is not yet published.

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