[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4361 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4361

 To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that an employee of 
  the Federal Government may use sick leave to attend to the medical 
   needs of a family member; to modify the voluntary leave transfer 
 program with respect to employees who are members of the same family; 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 1994

  Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
               Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that an employee of 
  the Federal Government may use sick leave to attend to the medical 
   needs of a family member; to modify the voluntary leave transfer 
 program with respect to employees who are members of the same family; 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Employees Family Friendly 
Leave Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF SICK LEAVE TO CARE FOR A FAMILY MEMBER.

    Section 6307 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(d)(1) For the purpose of this subsection, the term `family 
member' shall have such meaning as the Office of Personnel Management 
shall by regulation prescribe, except that such term shall include any 
individual who meets the definition given that term, for purposes of 
the leave transfer program under subchapter III, under regulations 
prescribed by the Office (as in effect on January 1, 1994).
    ``(2) In addition to any other allowable purpose, sick leave may be 
used by an employee to give care or otherwise attend to a family member 
of the employee having an illness, injury, or other condition which, if 
an employee had such condition, would justify the use of sick leave by 
such an employee.
    ``(3)(A) This subsection shall be effective during the 3-year 
period that begins upon the expiration of the 2-month period that 
begins on the date of the enactment of this subsection.
    ``(B) Not later than 6 months before the date as of which this 
subsection is scheduled to cease to be effective, the Office shall 
submit a report to Congress in which it shall evaluate the operation of 
this subsection and make recommendations as to whether or not this 
subsection should be continued beyond such date.''.

SEC. 3. TRANSFERS OF ANNUAL LEAVE BETWEEN FAMILY MEMBERS.

    (a) Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter III of chapter 63 of title 5, 
        United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 6337 
        the following:
``Sec. 6337a. Authority relating to transfers between family members
    ``(a) The Office of Personnel Management shall modify the program 
established by it under the other provisions of this subchapter such 
that, in addition to any circumstance in which a transfer of annual 
leave would be permitted under those other provisions, such a transfer 
could also be made in the absence of any medical emergency, but only if 
the transfer is from an employee to a family member of the employee.
    ``(b) The terms and conditions applicable with respect to any 
transfer of leave under such other provisions of this subchapter shall 
also apply with respect to any transfer of leave under this section, 
except to the extent otherwise provided in this section.
    ``(c)(1) An application to receive any transfer of leave under this 
section shall, in addition to providing the information specified in 
section 6333(a)(1)(B)(i), identify the employee (complete with such 
evidence of relationship as may be required) from whom the applicant 
wishes to receive leave.
    ``(2) Subsections (a)(1)(B)(ii)-(iii), (a)(2), and (c) of section 
6333, and the exhaustion requirement under subsection (b) of such 
section, shall not apply for purposes of this section.
    ``(3) An employee shall not be eligible to receive a transfer of 
leave under this section if or to the extent that the leave transfer 
would cause the total amount of annual leave available to such employee 
to exceed 240 hours.
    ``(d) In connection with applying section 6334 for purposes of this 
section, the Office may by regulation require the inclusion of such 
information, on any application to which such section relates, as may 
be necessary to facilitate the administration of this section.
    ``(e)(1) Sections 6335, 6336, and 6337 shall not apply for purposes 
of this section, except to the extent required under subsection (g)(2).
    ``(2)(A) For purposes of carrying out the provisions of law cited 
in section 6335(b)(2) with respect to any employee to whom a transfer 
of leave is made under this section in the year in which the separation 
or other event (constituting the basis for the lump-sum payment 
involved) occurs, the total amount of leave based on which such payment 
is computed shall be equal to the total amount which would otherwise 
apply, reduced by the net amount of leave received by such employee in 
such year under this section, but not below zero.
    ``(B) For the purpose of subparagraph (A), the net amount of leave 
received under this section by an employee in a year shall be equal to 
the amount by which--
            ``(i) the total amount of leave received under this section 
        by such employee in such year, exceeds
            ``(ii) the total amount of leave received under this 
        section from such employee by any other employee in such year,
if at all.
    ``(f) A determination under this section as to whether or not an 
employee is a family member of another employee shall be made using the 
definition under section 6307(d).
    ``(g) Nothing in this section shall be considered to permit an 
employee to make a transfer of leave under this section to any other 
employee if--
            ``(1) an application by or on behalf of such other employee 
        under section 6333 has been approved with respect to a medical 
        emergency; and
            ``(2) such medical emergency has not yet terminated (as 
        determined in accordance with section 6335).
    ``(h)(1) Transfers of leave under this section may be made during 
the 3-year period which begins at the start of the first year beginning 
at least 60 days after the date of the enactment of this section. The 
beginning and ending dates of such 3-year period shall be fixed by the 
Office, in a manner consistent with section 6304, by regulation.
    ``(2) This section shall cease to be effective at the end of the 3-
year period described in paragraph (1).
    ``(3) Not later than 6 months before the date as of which this 
section is scheduled to cease to be effective, the Office shall submit 
a report to Congress in which it shall evaluate the operation of this 
section and make recommendations as to whether or not this section 
should be continued beyond such date.''.
            (2) Table of sections.--The table of sections for chapter 
        63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 6337 the following:

``6337a. Authority relating to transfers between family members.''.
    (b) Excepted Agencies.--Section 6339(c)(1) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ``emergency.'' and inserting 
``emergency, or to the extent such a transfer would be allowable under 
section 6337a.''.

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