Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes family and medical leave employment policies.

Highlights:

• Establishes a Family and Medical Benefit Insurance Division within the Department of Employment and Economic Development (Article I, Sec. 6).

• Specifies that an applicant who has a serious health condition, has a qualifying exigency, is taking safety leave, is providing family care, is bonding, or is pregnant or recovering from pregnancy, and who satisfies the conditions of this section is eligible to receive benefits (Article I, Sec. 7).

• Requires applicants to file a benefits claim within 90 calendar days of the related qualifying event (Article I, Sec. 8).

• Specifies that certification for an eligible applicant will be sufficient if the certification states the relevant dates, the probable duration, and the appropriate facts related to the condition (Article I, Sec. 8).

• Authorizes any party, or the commissioner, within 30 calendar days after service of the benefit judge’s decision, to file a request for reconsideration asking the judge to reconsider that decision (Article I, Sec. 11).

• Specifies that an eligible applicant’s weekly benefit is calculated by adding the following amounts obtained by applying the following percentage to an applicant’s average weekly wage (Article I, Sec. 12):

• 90 percent of wages that do not exceed 50 percent of the state’s average weekly wage; 

• 66 percent of wages that exceed 50 percent of the state’s average weekly wage but not 100 percent; and

• 55 percent of wages that exceed 100 percent of the state’s average weekly wage.

• Requires benefits to be paid weekly (Sec. 12).

• Authorizes an eligible applicant to receive up to 12 weeks of benefits related to the applicant’s serious health conditions or pregnancy and up to 12 weeks of benefits for bonding, safety leave, or family care (Article I, Sec. 12).

• Authorizes an eligible applicant to receive up to 12 weeks of benefits in a single benefit year for leave related to one or more qualifying exigencies (Article I, Sec. 12).

• Establishes, 90 days from the date of hire, an employee’s right to leave from employment for any day, or portion of a day, for which the employee would be eligible for benefits, regardless of whether the employee actually applied for benefits and regardless of whether the employee is covered under a private plan or the public program (Article I, Sec. 13).

• Requires an employee to provide the employer at least 30 days’ advance notice if the need for leave is foreseeable, before the leave is to set begin (Article I, Sec. 13).

• Authorizes leave based on a serious health condition to be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule if such leave would be medically beneficial to the individual with the serious health condition (Article I, Sec. 13).

• Prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee for requesting or obtaining benefits, or for exercising any other right under this act (Article I, Sec. 14).

• Requires an employer to maintain coverage under any group insurance policy, group subscriber contract, or health plan for the employee and any dependents during any leave for which an employee is entitled to benefits (Article I, Sec. 14).

• Authorizes a self-employed individual or independent contractor to file an application to be entitled to benefits for a period not less than 104 consecutive calendar weeks (Article I, Sec. 16).

• Requires the commissioner, beginning 2023, to use revenue for the purpose of outreach, education, and technical assistance for employees, employers, and self-employed individuals eligible to elect coverage (Article I, Sec. 20).

• Requires each employer to post in a conspicuous place on each of its premises a workplace notice providing notice of benefits available under this act (Article I, Sec. 27).

• Requires each employer to issue to each employee no more than 30 days from the beginning date of the employee’s employment, or 30 days before premium collection begins, whichever is later, written information in the primary language of the employee concerning the details and explanation of the family and medical leave benefits (Article I, Sec. 27).

• Authorizes employers with 50 or fewer employees to apply to grants to assist them with costs related to family and medical leave benefits (Article I, Sec. 29).

• Appropriates from the general fund to the commissioner of employment and economic development the following for the purposes of this act (Article III, Sec. 1):

• $10.83 million in the fiscal year 2021;

• $18.28 million in the fiscal year 2022;

• $14.66 million in the fiscal year 2023;

• $15.38 million in the fiscal year 2024; and

• $11.72 million in the fiscal year 2025 and beyond.

Full Bill Text