[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3090 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3090
To establish the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network to provide
support and incentives for the development and adoption of an
interstate agreement that facilitates streamlined benefit delivery,
reduced administrative burden, and coordination and harmonization of
State paid family and medical leave programs to benefit employees,
States, and employers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 30, 2025
Ms. Houlahan (for herself, Mrs. Bice, Ms. Letlow, Ms. Stevens, Mrs.
Miller-Meeks, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Feenstra, and Mr. Beyer) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network to provide
support and incentives for the development and adoption of an
interstate agreement that facilitates streamlined benefit delivery,
reduced administrative burden, and coordination and harmonization of
State paid family and medical leave programs to benefit employees,
States, and employers.
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 ``Interstate Paid Leave Action Network
Act of 2025'' or ``I-PLAN Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) BLS.--The term ``BLS'' means the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
(2) Employer-provided paid family and medical leave plan.--
The terms ``employer-provided paid family and medical leave
plan'' and ``employer plan'' mean a plan that--
(A) is provided by an employer to the employees of
such employer (whether directly, under a contract with
an insurer, or provided through a multiemployer plan);
(B) is an option for an employer within the
structure of a State paid family and medical leave
program in such State; and
(C) meets or exceeds the requirements of the State
paid family and medical leave program of the State in
which such employee is employed.
(3) I-PLAN.--The term ``I-PLAN'' means the Interstate Paid
Leave Action Network established in section 3(a).
(4) I-PLAN agreement.--The term ``I-PLAN Agreement'' means
the interstate agreement produced pursuant to section 3(b).
(5) National intermediary.--The term ``national
intermediary'' means a national nongovernmental workforce
organization that has extensive experience partnering with the
Department of Labor to operate interstate technological systems
and the electronic transmission of information and data for
State workforce agencies and employers.
(6) Paid leave.--The term ``paid leave'' means an increment
of compensated leave that is provided, in the case of a State
program, by such State or, in the case of an employer plan, by
such employer for use during a period in which such individual
is not working due to a qualifying reason.
(7) Qualifying reason.--The term ``qualifying reason''
means, in relation to an individual, a reason described in
subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 102(a)(1) of the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1))
(applied for purposes of this paragraph as if the individual
involved were the employee referred to in such section).
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Labor.
(9) State focal.--The term ``State focal'' means, with
respect to a State, an individual--
(A) designated by the State agency in charge of
such State's paid family and medical leave program to--
(i) participate in the I-PLAN;
(ii) lead such State's efforts to adopt and
implement the I-PLAN Agreement; and
(iii) communicate with key paid leave
stakeholders across the State; and
(B) who--
(i) is employed by such State's paid family
and medical leave program; and
(ii) has knowledge, experience, and
authority in paid leave matters.
(10) State paid family and medical leave program.--The
terms ``State paid family and medical leave program'' and
``State program'' mean a program under State law that provides,
during any 24-month period, a total of not less than 6 weeks of
paid leave to individuals--
(A) for each qualifying reason; and
(B) in aggregate.
SEC. 3. INTERSTATE PAID LEAVE ACTION NETWORK.
(a) In General.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established an Interstate Paid
Leave Action Network the purpose of which is to provide support
and incentives for the development and adoption of an
interstate agreement in accordance with this Act to benefit
employees, States, and employers by--
(A) facilitating streamlined benefit delivery;
(B) reducing administrative burden; and
(C) coordinating and harmonizing State programs.
(2) Membership.--The I-PLAN shall include a State focal
from each State receiving a conforming grant under section
5(a).
(3) Meetings.--The I-PLAN shall meet not less than 3 times
in each calendar year.
(4) Processes.--
(A) Certification.--States shall certify to the
Secretary their participation in the I-PLAN.
(B) Procedures.--State focals may determine, in
coordination with the Secretary, the process for the
following:
(i) the order in which States approach the
substance of each I-PLAN requirement;
(ii) the process by which States reach
consensus on such substance and agree to the I-
PLAN Agreement;
(iii) the process by which a State may
leave the I-PLAN; and
(iv) other processes relevant to the
success and administration of the I-PLAN as the
Secretary determines.
(5) Roadmap.--The I-PLAN shall develop, and annually
update, a roadmap for developing and implementing the
interstate agreement described in subsection (b) including
metrics for success.
(b) Duties.--The duty of the I-PLAN shall be to produce an
interstate agreement into which States offering a State paid family and
medical leave program may enter and to periodically update such
agreement as necessary to improve clarity and scope. Such agreement
shall be publicly available and pursue each of the following
requirements:
(1) Policy standard.--Create a single policy standard with
respect to all participating States to facilitate easier
compliance with and understanding of paid leave programs across
States, including definitions for the following:
(A) Benefit day, week, and year.
(B) Base period.
(C) Intermittent and reduced schedule leave.
(D) Place of performance.
(E) Family members.
(F) Employee eligibility.
(G) Employee coverage.
(H) Waiting period.
(I) Covered wage.
(2) Administrative standard.--Create a single
administrative standard with respect to all participating
States to facilitate easier compliance with and understanding
of paid leave programs across States, including--
(A) the process by which employers respond to
requests from States to verify and provide employee
information for eligibility determinations, including
wages and work history;
(B) the process by which employers provide periodic
and permanent notice of the availability of paid leave
under a State program or employer plan to employees;
(C) employees' responsibility to provide notices of
leave to their employers;
(D) timing of and process for collecting payroll
contributions;
(E) coordinating with other types of paid time off
and leaves of absence;
(F) continuing other benefits;
(G) accessing employee leave information;
(H) protecting personal information;
(I) creating and updating written leave materials
such as handbooks;
(J) maintaining records and documentation; and
(K) if a State program permits employers to elect
to provide employer plans, facilitating such election,
including by creating a single equivalency standard
with respect to all participating States to determine
whether the maximum monetary value of an employer plan
for the average weekly wage of workers in the State for
total covered establishments in all industries (based
on the most recent calendar year for which data are
available from the Quarterly Census of Employment and
Wages program of the BLS) is greater than or equal to
the maximum monetary value of a State program (or that
of multiple States), taking into account programmatic
elements such as--
(i) how benefit duration, wage replacement,
absence of a weekly benefit cap, absence of a
waiting week, and other factors interact in a
quantitative manner; and
(ii) how an individual taking paid family
and medical leave for a qualifying reason
affects the ability of such individual to take
paid family and medical leave for another
qualifying reason.
(3) Coordination of benefits across state programs.--Create
a single process for State programs to process claims for an
individual who has work history across multiple participating
States so that a single State program may provide benefits to
such individual on the basis of all such work history.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL INTERMEDIARY TO SUPPORT THE INTERSTATE PAID LEAVE
ACTION NETWORK.
(a) Authority To Make Grants.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations under section 6(a), the Secretary, acting through the
Employment and Training Administration, shall award a grant to one
national intermediary to facilitate the activities of the I-PLAN.
(b) Use of Funds.--A national intermediary awarded a grant under
subsection (a) shall use funds for the costs related to each of the
following:
(1) Meetings.--Meeting activities, including--
(A) convening the State focals as described in
section 3(a)(3), including reasonable travel,
transportation, and other expenses of State focals and
staff of the national intermediary (and any necessary
accompanying State personnel);
(B) making publicly available information on the
agendas and outcomes of such meetings; and
(C)(i) not later than 12 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, making publicly available the
roadmap described under section 3(a)(5); and
(ii) making any updates to such roadmap publicly
available.
(2) Annual report.--Producing and making publicly available
on an annual basis a report that compares State programs,
including information on--
(A) benefit eligibility;
(B) the maximum number of weeks an eligible
employee is allowed to receive benefits--
(i) for each qualifying reason; and
(ii) in aggregate;
(C) wage replacement rate and how that may vary
based on prior earnings;
(D) maximum weekly benefit amount;
(E) how such programs are financed by employees and
employers, including the payroll tax rate and amount of
wages subject to tax;
(F) whether and how such programs allow employers
to provide employer plans, taking into consideration
elements such as--
(i) benefit payment timeliness; and
(ii) employer and employee administrative
complexity;
(G) whether and how such programs coordinate with
other types of paid-time off and leaves of absence;
(H) the reasons, including qualifying reasons,
under which an individual is eligible to take paid
family and medical leave; and
(I) other activities essential for the success,
effectiveness, and sustainability of the I-PLAN.
(3) Outreach and coordination.--Engagement, consulting, and
gathering relevant information in coordination with I-PLAN
States from a wide range of external stakeholders, including--
(A) State legislatures;
(B) Governors;
(C) employees;
(D) representatives of employers, including--
(i) employers with employees in multiple
States; and
(ii) employers with fewer than 50
employees;
(E) self-employed individuals;
(F) policy experts and other organizations with
expertise on paid leave and unemployment compensation
programs; and
(G) Tribal governments.
(4) Standardized and interoperable technology system for
wages.--Providing a standardized technology-based system to
facilitate States' ability to carry out the I-PLAN Agreement,
allowing States to process interstate claims and strengthen
program integrity, that--
(A) adopts or leverages modular technology that--
(i) ensures privacy, security, and prompt
data availability;
(ii) enhances and streamlines the claimant,
employer, and participating State experience;
and
(iii) is interoperable with other relevant
State systems; and
(B) permits States to report on, to the extent
reasonable and technologically feasible, and
disaggregated by qualifying reason, on trends such as--
(i) the number of initial and continued
benefit claims;
(ii) average duration of benefits;
(iii) average weekly benefit amount;
(iv) average time between filing a claim
and receiving an initial benefit payment; and
(v) the accuracy of benefit payment
amounts.
(5) Additional uses.--Additional activities, including--
(A) hiring and compensating staff;
(B) formulating guidance, recommendations, and best
practices for States;
(C) providing training on program administration;
(D) providing technical assistance to States; and
(E) creating or leveraging technology essential for
the success and effectiveness of the I-PLAN.
(c) Duration of Award.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the period
during which payments are made to an entity from an award of a
grant under subsection (a) shall be 5 years.
(2) Compliance.--The Secretary shall annually evaluate
whether the national intermediary is complying with the
requirements of this Act and, if the Secretary determines that
the national intermediary is not so complying, shall withhold
any payment or part of the payment to the national intermediary
under this section for the following fiscal year unless and
until the Secretary determines the national intermediary has
remedied such compliance issue.
(d) National Intermediary Oversight.--The Secretary shall--
(1) monitor the national intermediary to ensure compliance
with the requirements of this Act;
(2) provide technical assistance to assist the national
intermediary with such compliance; and
(3) require regular reports on the performance of the
national intermediary, including on the roadmap under section
3(a)(5), the use of funds under section 4(b), and other methods
of evaluation.
SEC. 5. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES.
(a) Conforming Grants.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Authority to make grants.--Subject to the
availability of appropriations under section 6(b), the
Secretary, acting through the Employment and Training
Administration, shall, on an annual basis, make a
conforming grant to each eligible State.
(B) Amount of grant.--
(i) In general.--A grant to an eligible
State under this subsection shall be--
(I) not less than $1,500,000 and
not more than $8,000,000; and
(II) subject to subclause (I),
awarded on the basis of the relative
annual level of employment (as
published by the Current Employment
Statistics program of the BLS) of the
eligible State, compared to the annual
level of employment in all eligible
States.
(ii) Adjustment.--The amounts specified in
clause (i) shall be ratably increased or
decreased to the extent that funds available
under section 6(b) exceed or are less than
(respectively) the amount required to provide
the amounts specified in clause (i).
(2) Eligible states.--
(A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant
under paragraph (1), a State shall--
(i) have a State focal; and
(ii) participate in the I-PLAN in good
faith.
(B) Good faith requirement.--
(i) Withholding.--If the Secretary, in
consultation with the national intermediary
awarded the grant under section 4(a),
determines that a State is not participating in
the I-PLAN in good faith, the Secretary--
(I) shall provide warning and
feedback to States in a prompt manner;
and
(II) if, six months after the date
on which the Secretary provides such
warning and feedback, the Secretary
determines such State continues not to
participate in the I-PLAN in good
faith, the Secretary may elect to
withhold a portion or the total amount
of a grant under paragraph (1) to such
State.
(ii) Restoration.--If the Secretary elects
to withhold an amount from a State under clause
(i)(II), the Secretary may later elect to
provide the amount so withheld to such State if
the Secretary later determines that such State
is participating in good faith.
(b) Implementation Grants.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Authority to make grants.--Subject to the
availability of appropriations under section 6(c), the
Secretary, acting through the Employment and Training
Administration, shall, on an annual basis, make an
implementation grant to each eligible State.
(B) Amount of grant.--
(i) In general.--A grant to an eligible
State under this subsection shall be--
(I) not less than $1,500,000 and
not more than $8,000,000; and
(II) subject to subclause (I),
awarded on the basis of the relative
annual level of employment (as
published by Current Employment
Statistics program of the BLS) of the
eligible State, compared to the annual
level of employment in all eligible
States.
(ii) Adjustment.--The amounts specified in
clause (i) shall be ratably increased or
decreased to the extent that funds available
under section 6(c) exceed or are less than
(respectively) the amount required to provide
the amounts specified in clause (i).
(2) Eligibility.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), to be
eligible to receive a grant under paragraph (1), a
State shall--
(i) meet the requirements of subsection
(a)(2)(A); and
(ii) have entered into the I-PLAN
Agreement.
(B) Limitation.--A State described in subparagraph
(A) shall be ineligible to receive a grant for any
fiscal year beginning after the date that is 4 years
after the date on which such State enters into the I-
PLAN Agreement in which such State does not meet the
requirements of such Agreement.
(c) Use of Funds.--A State may use grants received under this
section--
(1) to help pay administrative costs, including costs
related to--
(A) customer service;
(B) staffing and training;
(C) technology;
(D) data sharing;
(E) identity validation; and
(F) program awareness; and
(2) to help small businesses, as defined by the State,
afford employer payroll contributions or access other forms of
technical and operational assistance related to State paid
family and medical leave.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) National Intermediary Grant.--There are authorized to be
appropriated not more than $10,000,000 for the purposes of section 4
for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
(b) Conforming Grants.--There are authorized to be appropriated not
more than $40,000,000 for the purposes of section 5(a) for each of
fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
(c) Implementation Grants.--There are authorized to be appropriated
not more than $40,000,000 for the purposes of section 5(b) for each of
fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
<all>