[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 195 (Thursday, November 30, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7635-S7636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1793. Mrs. FISCHER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by her to the bill H.R. 1, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to
titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal
year 2018; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
Strike section 13404 and insert the following:
SEC. 13404. EMPLOYER CREDIT FOR PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL
LEAVE.
(a) In General.--
(1) Allowance of credit.--Subpart D of part IV of
subchapter A of chapter 1 is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 45S. EMPLOYER CREDIT FOR PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL
LEAVE.
``(a) Establishment of Credit.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of section 38, in the case
of an eligible employer, the paid family and medical leave
credit is an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the
amount of wages paid to qualifying employees during any
period in which such employees are on family and medical
leave.
``(2) Applicable percentage.--For purposes of paragraph
(1), the term `applicable percentage' means 12.5 percent
increased (but not above 25 percent) by 0.25 percentage
points for each percentage point by which the rate of payment
(as described under subsection (c)(1)(B)) exceeds 50 percent.
``(b) Limitation.--
``(1) In general.--The credit allowed under subsection (a)
with respect to any employee for any taxable year shall not
exceed an amount equal to the product of the normal hourly
wage rate of such employee for each
[[Page S7636]]
hour (or fraction thereof) of actual services performed for
the employer and the number of hours (or fraction thereof)
for which family and medical leave is taken.
``(2) Non-hourly wage rate.--For purposes of paragraph (1),
in the case of any employee who is not paid on an hourly wage
rate, the wages of such employee shall be prorated to an
hourly wage rate under regulations established by the
Secretary.
``(3) Maximum amount of leave subject to credit.--The
amount of family and medical leave that may be taken into
account with respect to any employee under subsection (a) for
any taxable year shall not exceed 12 weeks.
``(c) Eligible Employer.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) In general.--The term `eligible employer' means any
employer who has in place a policy that meets the following
requirements:
``(A) The policy provides--
``(i) in the case of a qualifying employee who is not a
part-time employee (as defined in section 4980E(d)(4)(B)),
not less than 2 weeks of annual paid family and medical
leave, and
``(ii) in the case of a qualifying employee who is a part-
time employee, an amount of annual paid family and medical
leave that is not less than an amount which bears the same
ratio to the amount of annual paid family and medical leave
that is provided to a qualifying employee described in clause
(i) as--
``(I) the number of hours the employee is expected to work
during any week, bears to
``(II) the number of hours an equivalent qualifying
employee described in clause (i) is expected to work during
the week.
``(B) The policy requires that the rate of payment under
the program is not less than 50 percent of the wages normally
paid to such employee for services performed for the
employer.
``(2) Special rule for certain employers.--
``(A) In general.--An added employer shall not be treated
as an eligible employer unless such employer provides paid
family and medical leave in compliance with a policy which
ensures that the employer--
``(i) will not interfere with, restrain, or deny the
exercise of or the attempt to exercise, any right provided
under the policy, and
``(ii) will not discharge or in any other manner
discriminate against any individual for opposing any practice
prohibited by the policy.
``(B) Added employer; added employee.--For purposes of this
paragraph--
``(i) Added employee.--The term `added employee' means a
qualifying employee who is not covered by title I of the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as amended.
``(ii) Added employer.--The term `added employer' means an
eligible employer (determined without regard to this
paragraph), whether or not covered by that title I, who
offers paid family and medical leave to added employees.
``(3) Aggregation rule.--All persons which are treated as a
single employer under subsections (a) and (b) of section 52
shall be treated as a single taxpayer.
``(4) Treatment of benefits mandated or paid for by state
or local governments.--For purposes of this section, any
leave which is paid by a State or local government or
required by State or local law shall not be taken into
account in determining the amount of paid family and medical
leave provided by the employer.
``(5) No inference.--Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed as subjecting an employer to any penalty,
liability, or other consequence (other than ineligibility for
the credit allowed by reason of subsection (a) or recapturing
the benefit of such credit) for failure to comply with the
requirements of this subsection.
``(d) Qualifying Employees.--For purposes of this section,
the term `qualifying employee' means any employee (as defined
in section 3(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as
amended) who--
``(1) has been employed by the employer for 1 year or more,
and
``(2) for the preceding year, had compensation not in
excess of an amount equal to 60 percent of the amount
applicable for such year under clause (i) of section
414(q)(1)(B).
``(e) Family and Medical Leave.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), for
purposes of this section, the term `family and medical leave'
means leave for any 1 or more of the purposes described under
subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph (1), or
paragraph (3), of section 102(a) of the Family and Medical
Leave Act of 1993, as amended, whether the leave is provided
under that Act or by a policy of the employer.
``(2) Exclusion.--If an employer provides paid leave as
vacation leave, personal leave, or medical or sick leave
(other than leave specifically for 1 or more of the purposes
referred to in paragraph (1)), that paid leave shall not be
considered to be family and medical leave under paragraph
(1).
``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms `vacation
leave', `personal leave', and `medical or sick leave' mean
those 3 types of leave, within the meaning of section
102(d)(2) of that Act.
``(f) Determinations Made by Secretary of Treasury.--For
purposes of this section, any determination as to whether an
employer or an employee satisfies the applicable requirements
for an eligible employer (as described in subsection (c)) or
qualifying employee (as described in subsection (d)),
respectively, shall be made by the Secretary based on such
information, to be provided by the employer, as the Secretary
determines to be necessary or appropriate.
``(g) Wages.--For purposes of this section, the term
`wages' has the meaning given such term by subsection (b) of
section 3306 (determined without regard to any dollar
limitation contained in such section). Such term shall not
include any amount taken into account for purposes of
determining any other credit allowed under this subpart.
``(h) Election to Have Credit Not Apply.--
``(1) In general.--A taxpayer may elect to have this
section not apply for any taxable year.
``(2) Other rules.--Rules similar to the rules of
paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 51(j) shall apply for
purposes of this subsection.
``(i) Termination.--This section shall not apply to wages
paid in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019.''.
(b) Credit Part of General Business Credit.--Section 38(b)
is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (35),
by striking the period at the end of paragraph (36) and
inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(37) in the case of an eligible employer (as defined in
section 45S(c)), the paid family and medical leave credit
determined under section 45S(a).''.
(c) Credit Allowed Against AMT.--Subparagraph (B) of
section 38(c)(4) is amended by redesignating clauses (ix)
through (xi) as clauses (x) through (xii), respectively, and
by inserting after clause (viii) the following new clause:
``(ix) the credit determined under section 45S,''.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Denial of double benefit.--Section 280C(a) is amended
by inserting ``45S(a),'' after ``45P(a),''.
(2) Election to have credit not apply.--Section 6501(m) is
amended by inserting ``45S(h),'' after ``45H(g),''.
(3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for subpart
D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 is amended by
adding at the end the following new item:
``Sec. 45S. Employer credit for paid family and medical leave.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to wages paid in taxable years beginning after
December 31, 2017.
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