HB 06932 - Paid Family and Medical Leave

• Establishes a Family and Medical Leave Compensation Program administered by the Labor Department, offering up to 12 workweeks of paid leave during any 12-month period to eligible employees for family and medical reasons.

• Creates a Family and Medical Leave Compensation Trust Fund funded by employee contributions; the Labor Department begins collecting contributions by February 1, 2016, and begins offering compensation to eligible employees by February 1, 2017.

• Eligible employees must have earned at least $9,300 from one or more employers over 12 consecutive months in the 24 months prior to enrollment; compensation is 100% of average weekly earnings (not to exceed $1,000 per week) after tax deductions.

• Expands covered family relationships to include siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren; reduces leave entitlement from 16 workweeks to 12 workweeks per 24-month period under existing state family and medical leave law.

• Allows self-employed persons and sole proprietors to voluntarily enroll in the program for initial periods of at least three years; employees may take leave intermittently in increments of at least eight hours per week.