[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1573 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1573

   To provide equal leave benefits for parents who adopt a child or 
                    provide foster care for a child.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 8, 1997

    Mr. Oberstar (for himself, Mr. Hyde, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Burton of 
Indiana, Mr. Dellums, Mr. Frost, Mr. Klug, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Clement, Mr. 
  Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Ackerman, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Ms. 
  Lofgren, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Sanders, Mr. McDermott, Mr. 
Gejdenson, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Gutierrez, and Ms. Norton) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                             the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide equal leave benefits for parents who adopt a child or 
                    provide foster care for a child.

    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 ``Leave Equity for Adoptive Families 
Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. LEAVE REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--An employee who needs leave because of the 
placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster 
care shall be entitled to any leave benefit provided by the employee's 
employer to an employee who needs leave--
            (1) to care for the employee's newborn biological child, or
            (2) to recover from the employee's own illness, injury, or 
        disability.
    (b) Expiration of Entitlement.--Leave because of the placement of a 
son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care under 
subsection (a) shall commence no later than 12 months after the 
placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.

SEC. 3. CIVIL ACTION.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the limitations contained in this 
section, any person may bring a civil action against an employer to 
enforce the provisions of section 2 in any appropriate court of the 
United States or in any State court of competent jurisdiction.
    (b) Timing of Commencement of Civil Action.--No civil action may be 
commenced under subsection (a) later than 1 year after the date of the 
last event that constitutes the alleged violation of section 2.
    (c) Venue.--An action brought under subsection (a) in a district 
court of the United States may be brought in any appropriate judicial 
district under section 1391 of title 28, United States Code.
    (d) Relief.--In any civil action brought under subsection (a), the 
court may--
            (1) grant as relief against any respondent that violates 
        section 2--
                    (A) any permanent or temporary injunction, 
                temporary restraining order, or other equitable relief 
                as the court determines appropriate,
                    (B) damages in an amount equal to any wages, 
                salary, employment benefits, or other compensation 
                denied or lost to the employee bringing the action by 
                reason of the violation of section 2 or in a case in 
                which wages, salary, employment benefits, or other 
                compensation have not been denied or lost to the 
                employee, any actual monetary losses sustained by the 
                employee as a direct result of such violation, 
                including the cost of providing care, up to an amount 
                equal to 12 weeks of wages or salary for the employee, 
                and
                    (C) interest at the prevailing rate on the total 
                monetary damages calculated under subparagraph (B), and
            (2) award to a prevailing party (other than the United 
        States) in the action a reasonable attorney's fee and expert 
        witness fee.

SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require an employer to 
provide any leave benefit that the employer would not otherwise have 
provided to an employee to care for a newborn biological child or to 
recover from the employee's illness, injury, or disability.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means any individual 
        employed by an employer.
            (2) Employer.--The term ``employer'' means any person 
        engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting 
        commerce. The terms ``commerce'' and ``industry affecting 
        commerce'' mean any activity, business, or industry in commerce 
        or in which a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce 
        or the free flow of commerce and includes such terms as defined 
        in section 120 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947.
            (3) Employment benefits.--The term ``employment benefits'' 
        means all benefits provided or made available to employees by 
        an employer, including health insurance, sick leave, annual 
        leave, parental leave, and disability leave regardless of 
        whether such benefits are provided by a policy or practice of 
        an employer or through an ``employee welfare benefit plan'', as 
        defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income 
        Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(1)).
            (4) Leave benefit.--The term ``leave benefit'' means--
                    (A) any sick or parental leave provided by an 
                employer,
                    (B) any right to reemployment with the employer 
                after the leave described in subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) any right to the receipt of pay or employment 
                benefits, or the accrual of seniority, during the leave 
                described in subparagraph (A).
            (5) Parent.--The term ``parent'' means the biological 
        parent, adoptive parent, prospective adoptive parent, foster 
        parent, legal guardian, or stepparent, of a child.
            (6) Parental leave.--The term ``parental leave'' means any 
        leave to enable a parent to care for a newborn biological 
        child.
            (7) Placement.--The term ``placement'' means the 
        introduction of a child into a family or the process to bring 
        about the introduction of a child into a family.
            (8) Sick leave.--The term ``sick leave'' means any leave 
        provided by an employer to enable an employee to recover from 
        an illness, injury, or disability.
            (9) Son or daughter.--The term ``son or daughter'' means a 
        biological or adopted child, a foster child, a stepchild, a 
        legal ward, or a child placed for adoption.
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