January 16, 2024
On December 13, 2023, a bipartisan working group of U.S. Senators and Representatives – led by Senators Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Stephanie Bice (R-OK – released a request for information (RFI) soliciting feedback from a wide range of organizational, research, and policy stakeholders on federal paid leave to help inform ongoing bipartisan policy proposals. The working group is interested in stakeholder feedback on topics such as:
- 1 | The role of the federal government in providing, promoting, and/or incentivizing paid leave;
- 2 | The interaction between federal, state, and employer leave programs;
Key Actions
- Although early in the process, Congress’s renewed engagement on a federal leave program is encouraging.
- Per our policy positions, Business Group on Health continues to engage and advocate for uniform federal leave legislation to simplify employer compliance requirements and support paid leave programs.
- 3 | Recommendations regarding the framework of a national paid leave program;
- 4 | Whether a federal paid leave program should only serve a subset of Americans (e.g., the most vulnerable individuals) or be offered broadly; and
- 5 | What research says about the impact of providing paid leave on worker health, job satisfaction, and other health and socioeconomic outcomes.
Responses to the RFI must be submitted by January 31, 2024. Instructions on where to submit are included in the RFI.
What's Next?
Paid leave has not been a key area of policy discussions in the 118th Congress as different health care policy priorities such as prescription drug and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform, transparency, fair billing and site-neutral payment reform, and telehealth were given more focus. Although President Biden has called for the enactment of a 12-week federal paid family and medical leave, mentioning it in his 2023 State of the Union address and including the policy proposal in his 2024 budget request, and some Democrat-led legislative proposals started working their way through Congress in 2023, the outlook for any federal paid leave legislation in 2024 is uncertain.
As we look ahead to the 2024 elections, paid leave – including a paid federal leave program – could be given more attention as part of the policy conversation later this year. Business Group on Health will keep members informed of legislative and other policy developments relating to federal paid leave.
Resources
If you have questions, comments, or concerns about these or other regulatory and compliance issues, please contact us.
We provide this material for informational purposes only; it is not a substitute for legal advice.
More Topics
Articles & Guides
Leave Policy
This content is for members only. Already a member?
Login
Join today to gain access to member-only resources!
Learn More