[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 28, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4158-S4160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Merkley, Mr. 
        Whitehouse, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Kerry, Mrs. 
        Gillibrand, Mr. Coons, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. Lautenberg):
  S. 1283. A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to 
permit leave to care for a same-sex spouse, domestic partner, parent-
in-law, adult child, sibling, grandchild, or grandparent who has a 
serious health condition; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Family and 
Medical Leave Inclusion Act. This bill, which I also introduced in the 
111th Congress, would extend the important protections of the Family 
and Medical Leave Act to same-sex couples in America.
  I am pleased to introduce this bill with a coalition of Senators who 
are committed to ensuring justice and equality for all Americans. I 
would like to thank Senators Akaka, Blumenthal, Coons, Gillibrand, 
Kerry, Lautenberg, Leahy, Merkley, Sanders, and Whitehouse for standing 
with me in support of the Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act.
  In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act to, among 
other things, protect American workers facing either a personal health 
crisis, or that of a close family member.
  People in the workforce who suffer a serious illness or significant 
injury should be able to take time to heal, recover, follow their 
doctors' orders, and return to their jobs strong, healthy, and ready to 
be productive again. Thanks to the FMLA, they can take that time 
knowing that their jobs will be there when they recover.
  As we all know well, most employees are not only concerned about 
their own health and wellbeing. They are concerned about the health and 
wellbeing of those that they love. The FMLA gave workers with a child, 
parent, or spouse that was sick or injured, an opportunity to provide 
the needed care and support, knowing that their jobs would be there 
when they returned.
  When it was passed, the FMLA was an important and historic expansion 
of our nation's laws. Unfortunately, as families have evolved and 
expanded, we've learned that the FMLA does not provide the same level 
of protection to all American families. Under current law, it is 
impossible for many employees to be with their partners during times of 
medical need.
  As I stated when I introduced this bill last year, Congress followed 
the lead of many large and small businesses when it enacted the FMLA. 
Almost 20 years ago, many of these businesses had already recognized 
and addressed the need for employees to take time off to care for 
themselves or a loved one that was battling a serious health condition. 
These companies had put in place systems that gave their employees time 
to heal themselves or their family members, and ensured that those 
employees would return to work as soon as they could.
  The FMLA took the model these companies provided and brought the 
majority of the American workforce under the same protections.
  We once again have an opportunity to learn from the best practices of 
American businesses who have adjusted their personnel policies and 
benefit packages to better meet the needs of American families, as we 
find them today. These businesses have assessed the composition of 
their workforces and realized that, in order to meet the evolving needs 
of their employees and enhance productivity, they needed to go one step 
further than the protections provided by the FMLA.
  The Human Rights Campaign, leading civil rights organization that 
strongly supports the Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act, reports 
that 502 major American corporations, 10 states, and the District of 
Columbia now extend FMLA benefits to include leave on behalf of a same-
sex partner. Moreover, as of March of this year, 58 percent of Fortune 
500 companies provided health benefits to same-sex partners, a 13 fold 
increase since 1995.
  When the FMLA was signed into law, it was narrowly tailored to cover 
individuals caring for a very close family member. The law sought to 
cover that inner circle of people, where the family member assuming the 
caretaker role would be one of very few, if not the only person, who 
could do so. That idea has not changed.
  What has changed are the people who might be in that inner circle. 
The nuclear American family has grown, sometimes by design, and 
sometimes by necessity. More and more, that inner circle of close 
family might include a grandparent or grandchild, siblings, or same-sex 
domestic partners in loving and committed relationships.
  As the law stands right now, too many of these people are excluded 
from the protections of the FMLA.
  In these tough economic times, when unemployment is high and those 
with jobs are doing everything they can to keep them, we all know the 
value of job security. Hardworking Americans should not have to make 
the impossible choice between keeping their jobs and providing care and 
support for loved ones in their time of need. Almost 20 years ago, the 
FMLA ensured that millions of Americans did not have to make that 
choice. Now, the time has come to ensure that the security afforded by 
the FMLA is available to a broader range of American workers.
  There are many who would understandably question what this kind of 
change in the law would cost the business community. As I have stated 
in the past, the FMLA is already a very good law; it is already in 
place and it is working. It provides unpaid leave when the need arises, 
and it only applies to businesses that have enough employees on hand to 
handle the absence of a single worker without too great a burden.
  Ninety percent of the leave time that has been taken under the FMLA 
has been so that employees can care for themselves or for a child in 
their care, and those situations are already covered under the law as 
it stands. What the Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act would do is 
provide a little more flexibility, and recognize that there are a few 
more people in that inner circle of family who we might call upon, or 
who might call upon us.
  We can all agree that family is the first and best safety net in 
times of personal crisis. Families need to be given the realistic 
ability to provide that assistance. What the Family and Medical Leave 
Inclusion Act does is give those family members the ability to help 
their loved ones in ways that only they can, without fear of losing 
their jobs in the process.
  The Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act enhances the FMLA. The 
Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act, like the FMLA when it was 
passed almost 20 years ago, is long overdue. Our bill contains 
reasonable changes that reflect what many businesses have already done 
and accurately capture the modem American family.
  The Family Medical Leave Inclusion Act is supported by over 80 
organizations from the business, civil rights, LGBT, and labor 
communities, including: the National Association of Working Women; 
AFSCME; American Pediatrics Association; ACLU; Families USA; Gay and 
Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, GLAD; Human Rights Campaign; People 
for the American Way;

[[Page S4159]]

SEIU; and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
  The Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act is the right thing to do, 
and I hope we can join together and pass it on a bipartisan basis.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1283

       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 ``Family and Medical Leave 
     Inclusion Act''.

     SEC. 2. LEAVE TO CARE FOR A SAME-SEX SPOUSE, DOMESTIC 
                   PARTNER, PARENT-IN-LAW, ADULT CHILD, SIBLING, 
                   GRANDCHILD, OR GRANDPARENT.

       (a) Definitions.--
       (1) Inclusion of adult children and children of a domestic 
     partner.--Section 101(12) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2611(12)) is 
     amended--
       (A) by inserting ``a child of an individual's domestic 
     partner,'' after ``a legal ward,''; and
       (B) by striking ``who is--'' and all that follows and 
     inserting ``and includes an adult child.''.
       (2) Inclusion of grandchildren, grandparents, parents-in-
     law, siblings, and domestic partners.--Section 101 of such 
     Act (29 U.S.C. 2611) is further amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(20) Domestic partner.--The term `domestic partner', used 
     with respect to an employee, means--
       ``(A) the person recognized as the domestic partner of the 
     employee under any domestic partner registry or civil union 
     law of the State or political subdivision of a State where 
     the employee resides, or the person who is lawfully married 
     to the employee under the law of the State where the employee 
     resides and who is the same sex as the employee; or
       ``(B) in the case of an unmarried employee who lives in a 
     State where a person cannot marry a person of the same sex 
     under the laws of the State, a single, unmarried adult person 
     of the same sex as the employee who is in a committed, 
     personal (as defined in regulations issued by the Secretary) 
     relationship with the employee, who is not a domestic partner 
     to any other person, and who is designated to the employer by 
     such employee as that employee's domestic partner.
       ``(21) Grandchild.--The term `grandchild', used with 
     respect to an employee, means any person who is a son or 
     daughter of a son or daughter of the employee.
       ``(22) Grandparent.--The term `grandparent', used with 
     respect to an employee, means a parent of a parent of the 
     employee.
       ``(23) Parent-in-law.--The term `parent-in-law', used with 
     respect to an employee, means a parent of the spouse or 
     domestic partner of the employee.
       ``(24) Sibling.--The term `sibling', used with respect to 
     an employee, means any person who is a son or daughter of the 
     employee's parent.
       ``(25) Son-in-law or daughter-in-law.--The term `son-in-law 
     or daughter-in-law', used with respect to an employee, means 
     any person who is a spouse or domestic partner of a son or 
     daughter of the employee.''.
       (b) Leave Requirement.--Section 102 of the Family and 
     Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``spouse, or a son, 
     daughter, or parent, of the employee, if such spouse, son, 
     daughter, or parent'' and inserting ``spouse or domestic 
     partner, or a son, daughter, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandparent, or sibling, of the employee if such spouse, 
     domestic partner, son, daughter, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandparent, or sibling''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``spouse, or a son, 
     daughter, or parent'' and inserting ``spouse or domestic 
     partner, or a son, daughter, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandchild, or sibling,'';
       (2) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ``spouse, son, 
     daughter, parent,'' and inserting ``spouse or domestic 
     partner, son, daughter, parent, son-in-law or daughter-in-
     law, grandparent, sibling,'';
       (3) in subsection (e)--
       (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``spouse, parent,'' 
     and inserting ``spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-
     law, grandchild, grandparent, sibling,''; and
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``spouse, or a son, 
     daughter, or parent,'' and inserting ``spouse or domestic 
     partner, or a son, daughter, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandchild, or sibling,''; and
       (4) in subsection (f)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``a husband and wife'' 
     and inserting ``2 spouses or 2 domestic partners''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``that husband and 
     wife'' and inserting ``those spouses or those domestic 
     partners''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``the husband and 
     wife'' and inserting ``those spouses or those domestic 
     partners''.
       (c) Certification.--Section 103 of the Family and Medical 
     Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2613) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``spouse, or parent'' 
     and inserting ``spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-
     law, grandchild, grandparent, or sibling''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ``spouse, or parent 
     and an estimate of the amount of time that such employee is 
     needed to care for the son, daughter, spouse, or parent'' and 
     inserting ``spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandparent, or sibling and an estimate of the amount of time 
     that such employee is needed to care for such son, daughter, 
     spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, 
     or sibling''; and
       (B) in paragraph (7), by striking ``parent, or spouse'' and 
     inserting ``spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandparent, or sibling''.
       (d) Employment and Benefits Protection.--Section 104(c)(3) 
     of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 
     2614(c)(3)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ``spouse, or 
     parent'' and inserting ``spouse, domestic partner, parent, 
     parent-in-law, grandparent, or sibling''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking ``spouse, or 
     parent'' and inserting ``spouse, domestic partner, parent, 
     parent-in-law, grandparent, or sibling''.

     SEC. 3. FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

       (a) Definitions.--
       (1) Inclusion of adult children and children of a domestic 
     partner.--Section 6381(6) of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (A) by inserting ``a child of an individual's domestic 
     partner,'' after ``a legal ward,''; and
       (B) by striking ``who is--'' and all that follows and 
     inserting ``and includes an adult child.''.
       (2) Inclusion of grandchildren, grandparents, parents-in-
     law, siblings, and domestic partners.--Section 6381 of such 
     title is further amended--
       (A) in paragraph (11)(B), by striking ``; and'' and 
     inserting a semicolon;
       (B) in paragraph (12), by striking the period and inserting 
     a semicolon; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(13) the term `domestic partner', used with respect to an 
     employee, means--
       ``(A) the person recognized as the domestic partner of the 
     employee under any domestic partner registry or civil union 
     law of the State or political subdivision of a State where 
     the employee resides, or the person who is lawfully married 
     to the employee under the law of the State where the employee 
     resides and who is the same sex as the employee; or
       ``(B) in the case of an unmarried employee who lives in a 
     State where a person cannot marry a person of the same sex 
     under the laws of the State, a single, unmarried adult person 
     of the same sex as the employee who is in a committed, 
     personal (as defined in regulations issued by the Office of 
     Personnel Management) relationship with the employee, who is 
     not a domestic partner to any other person, and who is 
     designated to the employer by such employee as that 
     employee's domestic partner;
       ``(14) the term `grandchild', used with respect to an 
     employee, means any person who is a son or daughter of a son 
     or daughter of the employee;
       ``(15) the term `grandparent', used with respect to an 
     employee, means a parent of a parent of the employee;
       ``(16) the term `parent-in-law', used with respect to an 
     employee, means a parent of the spouse or domestic partner of 
     the employee;
       ``(17) the term `sibling', used with respect to an 
     employee, means any person who is a son or daughter of the 
     employee's parent; and
       ``(18) the term `son-in-law or daughter-in-law', used with 
     respect to an employee, means any person who is a spouse or 
     domestic partner of a son or daughter of the employee.''.
       (b) Leave Requirement.--Section 6382 of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``spouse, or a son, 
     daughter, or parent, of the employee, if such spouse, son, 
     daughter, or parent'' and inserting ``spouse or domestic 
     partner, or a son, daughter, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandparent, or sibling, of the employee, if such spouse, 
     domestic partner, son, daughter, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandparent, or sibling''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``spouse, or a son, 
     daughter, or parent'' and inserting ``spouse or domestic 
     partner, or a son, daughter, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandchild, or sibling,'';
       (2) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ``spouse, son, 
     daughter, parent,'' and inserting ``spouse or domestic 
     partner, son, daughter, parent, son-in-law or daughter-in-
     law, grandparent, sibling,''; and
       (3) in subsection (e)--
       (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``spouse, parent'' and 
     inserting ``spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandchild, grandparent, sibling''; and
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``spouse, or a son, 
     daughter, or parent,'' and inserting ``spouse or domestic 
     partner, or a son, daughter, parent, parent-in-law, 
     grandchild, or sibling,''.
       (c) Certification.--Section 6383 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``spouse, or parent'' 
     and inserting ``spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-
     law, grandchild, grandparent, or sibling''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by striking ``spouse, or 
     parent, and an estimate of the

[[Page S4160]]

     amount of time that such employee is needed to care for such 
     son, daughter, spouse, or parent'' and inserting ``spouse, 
     domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or 
     sibling and an estimate of the amount of time that such 
     employee is needed to care for such son, daughter, spouse, 
     domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or 
     sibling''.
                                 ______