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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to paid family leave insurance; 2
amending s. 624.406, F.S.; authorizing life insurers 3
to transact paid family leave insurance; creating s. 4
624.6086, F.S.; defining terms; providing 5
circumstances under which paid family leave insurance 6
may be issued and purchased under group disability 7
income policies and group insurance policies; creating 8
s. 627.445, F.S.; defining terms; providing 9
circumstances under which family leave insurance 10
benefits may be provided; requiring that paid family 11
leave insurance policies specify details and 12
requirements relating to covered circumstances, 13
benefit periods, waiting periods, benefit amounts, 14
certain offsets, and payment of benefits; providing 15
that eligibility for family leave insurance benefits 16
may be limited, excluded, or reduced, but any such 17
limitation, exclusion, or reduction must be specified 18
in the policy; providing circumstances under which 19
limitations, exclusions, and reductions are 20
permissible; providing applicable provisions for 21
calculating rates; provi ding that paid family leave 22
insurance policy forms and riders are subject to 23
review by the Office of Insurance Regulation; 24
specifying the means by which a policy must offer 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
family leave insurance benefits; authorizing the 26
Financial Services Commission to a dopt rules; 27
providing an effective date. 28
29
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30
31
Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 624.406, Florida 32
Statutes, is amended to read: 33
624.406 Combinations of insuring powers, one insurer. —An 34
insurer which otherwise qualifies therefor may be authorized to 35
transact any one kind or combination of kinds of insurance as 36
defined in part V except: 37
(1) A life insurer may also grant annuities, but shall not 38
be authorized to transact any other kind of ins urance except 39
health insurance, disability income insurance, paid family leave 40
insurance, excess coverage for health maintenance organizations, 41
or excess insurance, specific and aggregate, for self -insurers 42
of a plan of health insurance and multiple -employer welfare 43
arrangements. 44
Section 2. Section 624.6086, Florida Statutes, is created 45
to read: 46
624.6086 "Paid family leave insurance" defined; paid 47
family leave insurance issuance and purchase. — 48
(1) As used in this section, the term "paid family leave 49
insurance" means insurance issued to an employer which is 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
related to a benefit program provided to an employee to pay for 51
a percentage or portion of the employee's income loss due to: 52
(a) The birth of a child or the adoption of a child by the 53
employee; 54
(b) Placement of a child with the employee for foster 55
care; 56
(c) Care of the employee's family member who has a serious 57
health condition; or 58
(d) Circumstances arising out of the fact that the 59
employee's family member who is a servicemember is on activ e 60
duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to 61
active duty. 62
63
As used in this subsection, the terms "child," "family leave," 64
and "family member" have the same meanings as in s. 627.445(1). 65
(2) Paid family leave insurance may be issued to and 66
purchased by an employer as an amendment or a rider to a group 67
disability income policy, included in a group disability income 68
policy, or issued as a separate group insurance policy. 69
Section 3. Section 627.445, Florida Statutes, is created 70
to read: 71
627.445 Paid family leave insurance. — 72
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 73
(a) "Armed Forces of the United States" means an officer 74
or enlisted member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, 75
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Space Force, or Coast Guard of the United States, the Florida 76
National Guard, or the United States Reserve Forces. 77
(b) "Child" means a person who is: 78
1. Under 18 years of age, or 18 years of age or older and 79
incapable of self-care because of a mental or a physical 80
disability; and 81
2. A biological, an adopted, or a foster son or daughter; 82
a stepson or a stepdaughter; a legal ward; or a son or a 83
daughter of a person to whom the employee stands in loco 84
parentis. 85
(c) "Family leave" means any leave taken by an employee 86
from work for any of the ci rcumstances specified in subsection 87
(2). 88
(d) "Family member" means a child, a spouse, a parent, or 89
any other person defined as a family member of the employee in 90
the policy. 91
(e) "Health care provider" means a hospital licensed under 92
chapter 395, a health care institution licensed under chapter 93
400 or chapter 429, or an individual licensed under chapter 458, 94
chapter 459, chapter 460, chapter 461, chapter 464, or chapter 95
466. 96
(f) "Parent" means a biological, foster, or adoptive 97
parent; a stepparent; a l egal guardian; or other person who 98
stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a 99
child. 100
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(g) "Serious health condition" means an illness, an 101
injury, an impairment, or a physical or mental condition, 102
including, but not limited to, a pregna ncy complication that 103
threatens the life of the mother or unborn child; 104
transplantation preparation and recovery from surgery related to 105
organ or tissue donation which involve inpatient care in a 106
hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; 107
continuing treatment; or continuing supervision by a health care 108
provider. Continuing supervision by a health care provider 109
includes a period of incapacity which is permanent or long -term 110
due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective and 111
during which the family member need not be receiving active 112
treatment by a health care provider. 113
(2) COVERED FAMILY LEAVE INSURANCE BENEFITS. —Family leave 114
insurance benefits provided in a paid family leave insurance 115
policy may be provided for any leave taken by an employee from 116
work for any of the following circumstances: 117
(a) Participation in providing care, including physical or 118
psychological care, for a family member made necessary by a 119
serious health condition of the family member; 120
(b) Bonding with the emp loyee's child during the first 12 121
months after the child's birth or the first 12 months after the 122
placement of the child for adoption by or foster care with the 123
employee; 124
(c) Addressing a qualifying exigency as interpreted under 125
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the Family and Medical Le ave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. s. 126
2612(a)(1)(E) and 29 C.F.R. s. 825.126(a)(1) -(8), arising out of 127
the fact that the spouse, child, or parent of the employee is on 128
active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order 129
to active duty in the Armed Force s of the United States; 130
(d) Caring for a family member who was injured in the line 131
of duty while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States; 132
or 133
(e) Caring for a family member or other leave as specified 134
in the policy. 135
(3) REQUIRED POLICY SPECIF ICITY.—A paid family leave 136
insurance policy must specify all of the following: 137
(a) Details and requirements with regard to each of the 138
covered circumstances specified in subsection (2). 139
(b) The length of family leave insurance benefits 140
available for each covered circumstance, which may not be less 141
than 2 weeks during a period of 52 consecutive calendar weeks. 142
(c) Whether there is an uncovered waiting period and, if 143
so, the terms and conditions of the uncovered waiting period, 144
which may include, but ar e not limited to, whether: 145
1. The period runs over a consecutive calendar -day period; 146
2. The period is counted toward the annual allotment of 147
covered family leave insurance benefits or is in addition to the 148
annual allotment of covered family leave insu rance benefits; 149
3. The period must be met only once per benefit year or 150
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must be met for each separate claim for benefits; and 151
4. The employee may work or receive paid time off or other 152
compensation during the period. 153
(d) The amount of benefits that w ill be paid for covered 154
circumstances specified in subsection (2). 155
(e) The definition of the wages or other income upon which 156
the amount of benefits will be issued. 157
(f) The method by which such wages or other income will be 158
calculated. 159
(g) If the family leave insurance benefits are subject to 160
offsets for wages or other income received or for which the 161
insured may be eligible, all such wages or other income that may 162
be set off and the circumstances under which the family leave 163
insurance benefits may be offset. 164
(h) The frequency of payments due for covered benefits. 165
(4) CALCULATION OF 52 CONSECUTIVE CALENDAR WEEKS. —For 166
purposes of this section, 52 consecutive calendar weeks may be 167
calculated by: 168
(a) A calendar year; 169
(b) Any fixed period starting on a particular date, such 170
as the effective date or anniversary date of the policy; 171
(c) The employee's hiring date or anniversary of hiring 172
date; 173
(d) The period measured forward from the employee's first 174
day of family leave; 175
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(e) A rolling period measured by looking back from the 176
employee's first day of family leave; or 177
(f) Any other method specified in the policy. 178
(5) PERMISSIBLE LIMITATIONS, EXCLUSIONS, OR REDUCTIONS. —179
Eligibility for family leave insurance benefits under this 180
section may be limited, excluded, or reduced, but any 181
limitation, exclusion, or reduction must be specified in the 182
policy and not conflict with the Florida Insurance Code. 183
Limitations, exclusions, or reductions are permissible for any 184
of the following circumstances: 185
(a) For any period during which the required notice and 186
medical certification as prescribed in the policy have not been 187
provided; 188
(b) For any leave period related to a serious health 189
condition or other harm to a family member brought about by a 190
willful act by the employee; 191
(c) For any period during which the employee performed 192
work for remuneration or profit; 193
(d) For any period for which the employee is eligible to 194
receive remuneration or maintenance from her or his employer, or 195
from a fund to which the employer has contributed; 196
(e) For any period during which the employee is eligible 197
to receive benefits under any other statutory program or 198
employer-sponsored program, including, but not limited to, 199
unemployment insurance benefits, workers' compensa tion benefits, 200
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
or any paid time off or employer's paid leave policy; 201
(f) For any period commencing before the employee becomes 202
eligible for family leave insurance benefits under the policy; 203
(g) For any period during which more than one person seeks 204
family leave for the same family member under the same policy, 205
unless the policy specifies otherwise; or 206
(h) For any other reasons specified in the policy. 207
(6) PAYMENT OF FAMILY LEAVE INSURANCE BENEFITS. —Family 208
leave insurance benefits provided under a po licy that complies 209
with this section must be paid periodically and promptly, as 210
specified in the policy, except as to a contested period of 211
family leave and subject to any of the limitations, exclusions, 212
or reductions permitted under subsection (5). 213
(7) INSURANCE POLICY.— 214
(a) Rates for policies or riders providing paid family 215
leave insurance benefits must be calculated in accordance with 216
the rate standards provided in s. 627.062. 217
(b) Forms for policies or riders providing paid family 218
leave insurance benefits are subject to review by the office 219
under s. 627.410. 220
(c) A policy issued under this section must meet the 221
requirements of s. 624.6086(2). 222
(8) RULEMAKING.—The commission may adopt rules to 223
administer this section. 224
Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 225