About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (June 5, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govelvu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressionol Research Service nforming the IegisIative debate since 1914 6 June 5, 2023 The Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Benefit This In Focus provides an overview of the federal employee paid parental leave benefit created by the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA), Title LXXVI, Subtitle A of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (P.L. 116-92) and amended by the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021 NDAA; P.L. 116-283). The benefit is available to most civilian federal employees and allows for the substitution of up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave (PPL) for unpaid leave guaranteed by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which can be used for the arrival of the employee's new child by birth, adoption, or foster care placement and for bonding with that child. PPL Benefit FEPLA amended the family and medical leave provisions of Title 5, U.S. Code, to establish a new category of paid leave that may be used by a federal employee claiming FMLA-protected leave for the arrival and care of the employee's child. In general, to claim the PPL benefit, the employee must * be eligible for leave under the FMLA; * not have exhausted the leave available under the FMLA; * follow FMLA notification and documentation requirements; and * agree in writing to return to work for at least 12 weeks after the PPL concludes. The PPL benefit must be used within 12 months of the child's arrival. Unlike FMLA, this benefit is provided at full pay and is in addition to the employee's annual and sick leave benefits. FEPLA does not require an employee to use any accrued annual or sick leave before using PPL. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued an Interim Final Rule to implement FEPLA on August 10, 2020. OPM indicated that it would promulgate a final rule as soon as practical after receiving comments on the interim final rule, but a final rule has yet to be issued. Eligibility To be eligible for family and medical leave under the FMLA, federal employees are generally required to have completed at least 12 months of service with the federal government. Specified active duty service performed by employees who are members of the National Guard or Reserves is counted toward the 12-month service requirement; however, past military service is not counted. OPM regulations provide that the PPL benefit is available only to employees with a continuing parental role with respect to the child whose birth or placement triggered the leave entitlement. Employees who claim the PPL benefit must, in general, be at home with the child or otherwise spend time bonding with the child. Based on OPM regulations, the PPL benefit is not available to an employee who is not engaged in activities directly connected to care of the child-for example, if the employee is physically located outside the local geographic area where the child is located. The Remaining FM LA Entitlement Under the FMLA, eligible employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of job-protected, unpaid leave in a 12-month period, with the continuation of their health insurance benefits. The PPL benefit can only be claimed after a child's arrival and must be claimed together with FMLA- protected leave within the same 12-month period. If in the 12-month period the employee has used part of that entitlement before the arrival of a new child, the employee can only claim the PPL benefit for the remainder of the entitlement. For example, if the employee used two weeks of FMLA-protected unpaid leave for a serious health condition, she would have 10 weeks remaining on her FMLA entitlement when the child arrived and could then use up to 10 weeks of the PPL benefit in the remaining period. FMLA Notification and Documentation Requirements In general, an employee must notify his or her employing agency of her or his intent to use FMLA leave at least 30 days before the expected leave date. OPM regulations provide that an employee's agency may request that the employee provide documentation demonstrating that the use of PPL is in connection with a child's arrival (e.g., a birth certificate, adoption or foster care documents) and may require an employee to attest, in writing, that PPL is being used in connection with a child's arrival. In general, an employee must notify an employing agency of the employee's election to substitute PPL for unpaid leave prior to the date paid leave commences. Return-to-Work Agreement With some exceptions described below, employees may not use the PPL benefit provided by FEPLA unless they agree in writing to return to work for their employing agency for 12 workweeks following the conclusion of that leave. Should an employee fail to do so, and if certain conditions enumerated in the act do not apply, the employing agency may recoup its contributions to the employee's health care premiums made during the period of leave.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most