| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 3090 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To establish the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network to provide support |
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| 6 | 6 | | and incentives for the development and adoption of an interstate agree- |
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| 7 | 7 | | ment that facilitates streamlined benefit delivery, reduced administrative |
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| 8 | 8 | | burden, and coordination and harmonization of State paid family and |
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| 9 | 9 | | medical leave programs to benefit employees, States, and employers. |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 11 | 11 | | APRIL30, 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Ms. H |
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| 13 | 13 | | OULAHAN(for herself, Mrs. BICE, Ms. LETLOW, Ms. STEVENS, Mrs. |
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| 14 | 14 | | M |
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| 15 | 15 | | ILLER-MEEKS, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. FEENSTRA, and Mr. BEYER) intro- |
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| 16 | 16 | | duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu- |
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| 17 | 17 | | cation and Workforce |
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| 18 | 18 | | A BILL |
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| 19 | 19 | | To establish the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network to |
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| 20 | 20 | | provide support and incentives for the development and |
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| 21 | 21 | | adoption of an interstate agreement that facilitates |
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| 22 | 22 | | streamlined benefit delivery, reduced administrative bur- |
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| 23 | 23 | | den, and coordination and harmonization of State paid |
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| 24 | 24 | | family and medical leave programs to benefit employees, |
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| 25 | 25 | | States, and employers. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 27 | 27 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 29 | 29 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 |
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| 32 | 32 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Interstate Paid Leave 2 |
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| 33 | 33 | | Action Network Act of 2025’’ or ‘‘I–PLAN Act of 2025’’. 3 |
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| 34 | 34 | | SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 |
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| 35 | 35 | | In this Act: 5 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (1) BLS.—The term ‘‘BLS’’ means the Bureau 6 |
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| 37 | 37 | | of Labor Statistics. 7 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (2) E |
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| 39 | 39 | | MPLOYER-PROVIDED PAID FAMILY AND 8 |
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| 40 | 40 | | MEDICAL LEAVE PLAN .—The terms ‘‘employer-pro-9 |
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| 41 | 41 | | vided paid family and medical leave plan’’ and ‘‘em-10 |
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| 42 | 42 | | ployer plan’’ mean a plan that— 11 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (A) is provided by an employer to the em-12 |
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| 44 | 44 | | ployees of such employer (whether directly, 13 |
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| 45 | 45 | | under a contract with an insurer, or provided 14 |
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| 46 | 46 | | through a multiemployer plan); 15 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (B) is an option for an employer within the 16 |
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| 48 | 48 | | structure of a State paid family and medical 17 |
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| 49 | 49 | | leave program in such State; and 18 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (C) meets or exceeds the requirements of 19 |
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| 51 | 51 | | the State paid family and medical leave pro-20 |
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| 52 | 52 | | gram of the State in which such employee is 21 |
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| 53 | 53 | | employed. 22 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (3) I–PLAN.—The term ‘‘I–PLAN’’ means the 23 |
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| 55 | 55 | | Interstate Paid Leave Action Network established in 24 |
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| 56 | 56 | | section 3(a). 25 |
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| 59 | 59 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 60 | 60 | | (4) I–PLAN AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘I– 1 |
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| 61 | 61 | | PLAN Agreement’’ means the interstate agreement 2 |
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| 62 | 62 | | produced pursuant to section 3(b). 3 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (5) N |
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| 64 | 64 | | ATIONAL INTERMEDIARY .—The term ‘‘na-4 |
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| 65 | 65 | | tional intermediary’’ means a national nongovern-5 |
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| 66 | 66 | | mental workforce organization that has extensive ex-6 |
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| 67 | 67 | | perience partnering with the Department of Labor 7 |
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| 68 | 68 | | to operate interstate technological systems and the 8 |
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| 69 | 69 | | electronic transmission of information and data for 9 |
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| 70 | 70 | | State workforce agencies and employers. 10 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (6) P |
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| 72 | 72 | | AID LEAVE.—The term ‘‘paid leave’’ 11 |
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| 73 | 73 | | means an increment of compensated leave that is 12 |
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| 74 | 74 | | provided, in the case of a State program, by such 13 |
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| 75 | 75 | | State or, in the case of an employer plan, by such 14 |
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| 76 | 76 | | employer for use during a period in which such indi-15 |
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| 77 | 77 | | vidual is not working due to a qualifying reason. 16 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (7) Q |
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| 79 | 79 | | UALIFYING REASON .—The term ‘‘quali-17 |
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| 80 | 80 | | fying reason’’ means, in relation to an individual, a 18 |
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| 81 | 81 | | reason described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 19 |
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| 82 | 82 | | of section 102(a)(1) of the Family and Medical 20 |
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| 83 | 83 | | Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)) (applied 21 |
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| 84 | 84 | | for purposes of this paragraph as if the individual 22 |
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| 85 | 85 | | involved were the employee referred to in such sec-23 |
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| 86 | 86 | | tion). 24 |
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| 89 | 89 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 90 | 90 | | (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 |
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| 91 | 91 | | the Secretary of Labor. 2 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (9) S |
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| 93 | 93 | | TATE FOCAL.—The term ‘‘State focal’’ 3 |
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| 94 | 94 | | means, with respect to a State, an individual— 4 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (A) designated by the State agency in 5 |
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| 96 | 96 | | charge of such State’s paid family and medical 6 |
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| 97 | 97 | | leave program to— 7 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (i) participate in the I–PLAN; 8 |
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| 99 | 99 | | (ii) lead such State’s efforts to adopt 9 |
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| 100 | 100 | | and implement the I–PLAN Agreement; 10 |
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| 101 | 101 | | and 11 |
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| 102 | 102 | | (iii) communicate with key paid leave 12 |
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| 103 | 103 | | stakeholders across the State; and 13 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (B) who— 14 |
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| 105 | 105 | | (i) is employed by such State’s paid 15 |
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| 106 | 106 | | family and medical leave program; and 16 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (ii) has knowledge, experience, and 17 |
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| 108 | 108 | | authority in paid leave matters. 18 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (10) S |
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| 110 | 110 | | TATE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE 19 |
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| 111 | 111 | | PROGRAM.—The terms ‘‘State paid family and med-20 |
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| 112 | 112 | | ical leave program’’ and ‘‘State program’’ mean a 21 |
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| 113 | 113 | | program under State law that provides, during any 22 |
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| 114 | 114 | | 24-month period, a total of not less than 6 weeks of 23 |
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| 115 | 115 | | paid leave to individuals— 24 |
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| 116 | 116 | | (A) for each qualifying reason; and 25 |
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| 119 | 119 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 120 | 120 | | (B) in aggregate. 1 |
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| 121 | 121 | | SEC. 3. INTERSTATE PAID LEAVE ACTION NETWORK. 2 |
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| 122 | 122 | | (a) I |
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| 123 | 123 | | NGENERAL.— 3 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (1) E |
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| 125 | 125 | | STABLISHMENT.—There is established an 4 |
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| 126 | 126 | | Interstate Paid Leave Action Network the purpose 5 |
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| 127 | 127 | | of which is to provide support and incentives for the 6 |
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| 128 | 128 | | development and adoption of an interstate agree-7 |
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| 129 | 129 | | ment in accordance with this Act to benefit employ-8 |
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| 130 | 130 | | ees, States, and employers by— 9 |
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| 131 | 131 | | (A) facilitating streamlined benefit deliv-10 |
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| 132 | 132 | | ery; 11 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (B) reducing administrative burden; and 12 |
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| 134 | 134 | | (C) coordinating and harmonizing State 13 |
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| 135 | 135 | | programs. 14 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (2) M |
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| 137 | 137 | | EMBERSHIP.—The I–PLAN shall include 15 |
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| 138 | 138 | | a State focal from each State receiving a conforming 16 |
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| 139 | 139 | | grant under section 5(a). 17 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (3) M |
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| 141 | 141 | | EETINGS.—The I–PLAN shall meet not 18 |
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| 142 | 142 | | less than 3 times in each calendar year. 19 |
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| 143 | 143 | | (4) P |
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| 144 | 144 | | ROCESSES.— 20 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (A) C |
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| 146 | 146 | | ERTIFICATION.—States shall certify 21 |
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| 147 | 147 | | to the Secretary their participation in the I– 22 |
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| 148 | 148 | | PLAN. 23 |
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| 151 | 151 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 152 | 152 | | (B) PROCEDURES.—State focals may de-1 |
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| 153 | 153 | | termine, in coordination with the Secretary, the 2 |
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| 154 | 154 | | process for the following: 3 |
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| 155 | 155 | | (i) the order in which States approach 4 |
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| 156 | 156 | | the substance of each I–PLAN require-5 |
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| 157 | 157 | | ment; 6 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (ii) the process by which States reach 7 |
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| 159 | 159 | | consensus on such substance and agree to 8 |
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| 160 | 160 | | the I–PLAN Agreement; 9 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (iii) the process by which a State may 10 |
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| 162 | 162 | | leave the I–PLAN; and 11 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (iv) other processes relevant to the 12 |
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| 164 | 164 | | success and administration of the I–PLAN 13 |
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| 165 | 165 | | as the Secretary determines. 14 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (5) R |
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| 167 | 167 | | OADMAP.—The I–PLAN shall develop, 15 |
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| 168 | 168 | | and annually update, a roadmap for developing and 16 |
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| 169 | 169 | | implementing the interstate agreement described in 17 |
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| 170 | 170 | | subsection (b) including metrics for success. 18 |
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| 171 | 171 | | (b) D |
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| 172 | 172 | | UTIES.—The duty of the I–PLAN shall be to 19 |
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| 173 | 173 | | produce an interstate agreement into which States offer-20 |
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| 174 | 174 | | ing a State paid family and medical leave program may 21 |
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| 175 | 175 | | enter and to periodically update such agreement as nec-22 |
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| 176 | 176 | | essary to improve clarity and scope. Such agreement shall 23 |
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| 177 | 177 | | be publicly available and pursue each of the following re-24 |
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| 178 | 178 | | quirements: 25 |
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| 181 | 181 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 182 | 182 | | (1) POLICY STANDARD.—Create a single policy 1 |
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| 183 | 183 | | standard with respect to all participating States to 2 |
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| 184 | 184 | | facilitate easier compliance with and understanding 3 |
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| 185 | 185 | | of paid leave programs across States, including defi-4 |
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| 186 | 186 | | nitions for the following: 5 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (A) Benefit day, week, and year. 6 |
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| 188 | 188 | | (B) Base period. 7 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (C) Intermittent and reduced schedule 8 |
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| 190 | 190 | | leave. 9 |
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| 191 | 191 | | (D) Place of performance. 10 |
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| 192 | 192 | | (E) Family members. 11 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (F) Employee eligibility. 12 |
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| 194 | 194 | | (G) Employee coverage. 13 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (H) Waiting period. 14 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (I) Covered wage. 15 |
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| 197 | 197 | | (2) A |
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| 198 | 198 | | DMINISTRATIVE STANDARD .—Create a sin-16 |
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| 199 | 199 | | gle administrative standard with respect to all par-17 |
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| 200 | 200 | | ticipating States to facilitate easier compliance with 18 |
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| 201 | 201 | | and understanding of paid leave programs across 19 |
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| 202 | 202 | | States, including— 20 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (A) the process by which employers re-21 |
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| 204 | 204 | | spond to requests from States to verify and pro-22 |
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| 205 | 205 | | vide employee information for eligibility deter-23 |
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| 206 | 206 | | minations, including wages and work history; 24 |
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| 210 | 210 | | (B) the process by which employers provide 1 |
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| 211 | 211 | | periodic and permanent notice of the avail-2 |
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| 212 | 212 | | ability of paid leave under a State program or 3 |
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| 213 | 213 | | employer plan to employees; 4 |
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| 214 | 214 | | (C) employees’ responsibility to provide no-5 |
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| 215 | 215 | | tices of leave to their employers; 6 |
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| 216 | 216 | | (D) timing of and process for collecting 7 |
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| 217 | 217 | | payroll contributions; 8 |
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| 218 | 218 | | (E) coordinating with other types of paid 9 |
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| 219 | 219 | | time off and leaves of absence; 10 |
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| 220 | 220 | | (F) continuing other benefits; 11 |
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| 221 | 221 | | (G) accessing employee leave information; 12 |
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| 222 | 222 | | (H) protecting personal information; 13 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (I) creating and updating written leave 14 |
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| 224 | 224 | | materials such as handbooks; 15 |
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| 225 | 225 | | (J) maintaining records and documenta-16 |
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| 226 | 226 | | tion; and 17 |
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| 227 | 227 | | (K) if a State program permits employers 18 |
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| 228 | 228 | | to elect to provide employer plans, facilitating 19 |
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| 229 | 229 | | such election, including by creating a single 20 |
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| 230 | 230 | | equivalency standard with respect to all partici-21 |
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| 231 | 231 | | pating States to determine whether the max-22 |
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| 232 | 232 | | imum monetary value of an employer plan for 23 |
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| 233 | 233 | | the average weekly wage of workers in the State 24 |
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| 234 | 234 | | for total covered establishments in all industries 25 |
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| 237 | 237 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 238 | 238 | | (based on the most recent calendar year for 1 |
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| 239 | 239 | | which data are available from the Quarterly 2 |
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| 240 | 240 | | Census of Employment and Wages program of 3 |
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| 241 | 241 | | the BLS) is greater than or equal to the max-4 |
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| 242 | 242 | | imum monetary value of a State program (or 5 |
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| 243 | 243 | | that of multiple States), taking into account 6 |
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| 244 | 244 | | programmatic elements such as— 7 |
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| 245 | 245 | | (i) how benefit duration, wage replace-8 |
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| 246 | 246 | | ment, absence of a weekly benefit cap, ab-9 |
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| 247 | 247 | | sence of a waiting week, and other factors 10 |
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| 248 | 248 | | interact in a quantitative manner; and 11 |
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| 249 | 249 | | (ii) how an individual taking paid 12 |
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| 250 | 250 | | family and medical leave for a qualifying 13 |
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| 251 | 251 | | reason affects the ability of such individual 14 |
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| 252 | 252 | | to take paid family and medical leave for 15 |
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| 253 | 253 | | another qualifying reason. 16 |
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| 254 | 254 | | (3) C |
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| 255 | 255 | | OORDINATION OF BENEFITS ACROSS 17 |
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| 256 | 256 | | STATE PROGRAMS .—Create a single process for 18 |
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| 257 | 257 | | State programs to process claims for an individual 19 |
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| 258 | 258 | | who has work history across multiple participating 20 |
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| 259 | 259 | | States so that a single State program may provide 21 |
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| 260 | 260 | | benefits to such individual on the basis of all such 22 |
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| 261 | 261 | | work history. 23 |
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| 264 | 264 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 265 | 265 | | SEC. 4. NATIONAL INTERMEDIARY TO SUPPORT THE 1 |
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| 266 | 266 | | INTERSTATE PAID LEAVE ACTION NETWORK. 2 |
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| 267 | 267 | | (a) A |
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| 268 | 268 | | UTHORITYTOMAKEGRANTS.—Subject to the 3 |
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| 269 | 269 | | availability of appropriations under section 6(a), the Sec-4 |
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| 270 | 270 | | retary, acting through the Employment and Training Ad-5 |
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| 271 | 271 | | ministration, shall award a grant to one national inter-6 |
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| 272 | 272 | | mediary to facilitate the activities of the I–PLAN. 7 |
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| 273 | 273 | | (b) U |
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| 274 | 274 | | SE OFFUNDS.—A national intermediary award-8 |
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| 275 | 275 | | ed a grant under subsection (a) shall use funds for the 9 |
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| 276 | 276 | | costs related to each of the following: 10 |
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| 277 | 277 | | (1) M |
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| 278 | 278 | | EETINGS.—Meeting activities, including— 11 |
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| 279 | 279 | | (A) convening the State focals as described 12 |
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| 280 | 280 | | in section 3(a)(3), including reasonable travel, 13 |
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| 281 | 281 | | transportation, and other expenses of State 14 |
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| 282 | 282 | | focals and staff of the national intermediary 15 |
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| 283 | 283 | | (and any necessary accompanying State per-16 |
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| 284 | 284 | | sonnel); 17 |
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| 285 | 285 | | (B) making publicly available information 18 |
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| 286 | 286 | | on the agendas and outcomes of such meetings; 19 |
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| 287 | 287 | | and 20 |
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| 288 | 288 | | (C)(i) not later than 12 months after the 21 |
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| 289 | 289 | | date of enactment of this Act, making publicly 22 |
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| 290 | 290 | | available the roadmap described under section 23 |
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| 291 | 291 | | 3(a)(5); and 24 |
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| 292 | 292 | | (ii) making any updates to such roadmap 25 |
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| 293 | 293 | | publicly available. 26 |
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| 296 | 296 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 297 | 297 | | (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Producing and making 1 |
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| 298 | 298 | | publicly available on an annual basis a report that 2 |
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| 299 | 299 | | compares State programs, including information 3 |
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| 300 | 300 | | on— 4 |
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| 301 | 301 | | (A) benefit eligibility; 5 |
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| 302 | 302 | | (B) the maximum number of weeks an eli-6 |
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| 303 | 303 | | gible employee is allowed to receive benefits— 7 |
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| 304 | 304 | | (i) for each qualifying reason; and 8 |
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| 305 | 305 | | (ii) in aggregate; 9 |
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| 306 | 306 | | (C) wage replacement rate and how that 10 |
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| 307 | 307 | | may vary based on prior earnings; 11 |
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| 308 | 308 | | (D) maximum weekly benefit amount; 12 |
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| 309 | 309 | | (E) how such programs are financed by 13 |
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| 310 | 310 | | employees and employers, including the payroll 14 |
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| 311 | 311 | | tax rate and amount of wages subject to tax; 15 |
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| 312 | 312 | | (F) whether and how such programs allow 16 |
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| 313 | 313 | | employers to provide employer plans, taking 17 |
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| 314 | 314 | | into consideration elements such as— 18 |
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| 315 | 315 | | (i) benefit payment timeliness; and 19 |
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| 316 | 316 | | (ii) employer and employee adminis-20 |
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| 317 | 317 | | trative complexity; 21 |
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| 318 | 318 | | (G) whether and how such programs co-22 |
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| 319 | 319 | | ordinate with other types of paid-time off and 23 |
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| 320 | 320 | | leaves of absence; 24 |
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| 324 | 324 | | (H) the reasons, including qualifying rea-1 |
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| 325 | 325 | | sons, under which an individual is eligible to 2 |
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| 326 | 326 | | take paid family and medical leave; and 3 |
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| 327 | 327 | | (I) other activities essential for the success, 4 |
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| 328 | 328 | | effectiveness, and sustainability of the I–PLAN. 5 |
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| 329 | 329 | | (3) O |
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| 330 | 330 | | UTREACH AND COORDINATION .—Engage-6 |
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| 331 | 331 | | ment, consulting, and gathering relevant information 7 |
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| 332 | 332 | | in coordination with I–PLAN States from a wide 8 |
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| 333 | 333 | | range of external stakeholders, including— 9 |
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| 334 | 334 | | (A) State legislatures; 10 |
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| 335 | 335 | | (B) Governors; 11 |
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| 336 | 336 | | (C) employees; 12 |
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| 337 | 337 | | (D) representatives of employers, includ-13 |
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| 338 | 338 | | ing— 14 |
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| 339 | 339 | | (i) employers with employees in mul-15 |
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| 340 | 340 | | tiple States; and 16 |
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| 341 | 341 | | (ii) employers with fewer than 50 em-17 |
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| 342 | 342 | | ployees; 18 |
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| 343 | 343 | | (E) self-employed individuals; 19 |
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| 344 | 344 | | (F) policy experts and other organizations 20 |
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| 345 | 345 | | with expertise on paid leave and unemployment 21 |
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| 346 | 346 | | compensation programs; and 22 |
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| 347 | 347 | | (G) Tribal governments. 23 |
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| 348 | 348 | | (4) S |
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| 349 | 349 | | TANDARDIZED AND INTEROPERABLE 24 |
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| 350 | 350 | | TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM FOR WAGES .—Providing a 25 |
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| 352 | 352 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 |
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| 353 | 353 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 354 | 354 | | standardized technology-based system to facilitate 1 |
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| 355 | 355 | | States’ ability to carry out the I–PLAN Agreement, 2 |
|---|
| 356 | 356 | | allowing States to process interstate claims and 3 |
|---|
| 357 | 357 | | strengthen program integrity, that— 4 |
|---|
| 358 | 358 | | (A) adopts or leverages modular technology 5 |
|---|
| 359 | 359 | | that— 6 |
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| 360 | 360 | | (i) ensures privacy, security, and 7 |
|---|
| 361 | 361 | | prompt data availability; 8 |
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| 362 | 362 | | (ii) enhances and streamlines the 9 |
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| 363 | 363 | | claimant, employer, and participating State 10 |
|---|
| 364 | 364 | | experience; and 11 |
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| 365 | 365 | | (iii) is interoperable with other rel-12 |
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| 366 | 366 | | evant State systems; and 13 |
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| 367 | 367 | | (B) permits States to report on, to the ex-14 |
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| 368 | 368 | | tent reasonable and technologically feasible, and 15 |
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| 369 | 369 | | disaggregated by qualifying reason, on trends 16 |
|---|
| 370 | 370 | | such as— 17 |
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| 371 | 371 | | (i) the number of initial and contin-18 |
|---|
| 372 | 372 | | ued benefit claims; 19 |
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| 373 | 373 | | (ii) average duration of benefits; 20 |
|---|
| 374 | 374 | | (iii) average weekly benefit amount; 21 |
|---|
| 375 | 375 | | (iv) average time between filing a 22 |
|---|
| 376 | 376 | | claim and receiving an initial benefit pay-23 |
|---|
| 377 | 377 | | ment; and 24 |
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| 380 | 380 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 381 | 381 | | (v) the accuracy of benefit payment 1 |
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| 382 | 382 | | amounts. 2 |
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| 383 | 383 | | (5) A |
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| 384 | 384 | | DDITIONAL USES.—Additional activities, 3 |
|---|
| 385 | 385 | | including— 4 |
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| 386 | 386 | | (A) hiring and compensating staff; 5 |
|---|
| 387 | 387 | | (B) formulating guidance, recommenda-6 |
|---|
| 388 | 388 | | tions, and best practices for States; 7 |
|---|
| 389 | 389 | | (C) providing training on program admin-8 |
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| 390 | 390 | | istration; 9 |
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| 391 | 391 | | (D) providing technical assistance to 10 |
|---|
| 392 | 392 | | States; and 11 |
|---|
| 393 | 393 | | (E) creating or leveraging technology es-12 |
|---|
| 394 | 394 | | sential for the success and effectiveness of the 13 |
|---|
| 395 | 395 | | I–PLAN. 14 |
|---|
| 396 | 396 | | (c) D |
|---|
| 397 | 397 | | URATION OFAWARD.— 15 |
|---|
| 398 | 398 | | (1) I |
|---|
| 399 | 399 | | N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 16 |
|---|
| 400 | 400 | | the period during which payments are made to an 17 |
|---|
| 401 | 401 | | entity from an award of a grant under subsection 18 |
|---|
| 402 | 402 | | (a) shall be 5 years. 19 |
|---|
| 403 | 403 | | (2) C |
|---|
| 404 | 404 | | OMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall annu-20 |
|---|
| 405 | 405 | | ally evaluate whether the national intermediary is 21 |
|---|
| 406 | 406 | | complying with the requirements of this Act and, if 22 |
|---|
| 407 | 407 | | the Secretary determines that the national inter-23 |
|---|
| 408 | 408 | | mediary is not so complying, shall withhold any pay-24 |
|---|
| 409 | 409 | | ment or part of the payment to the national inter-25 |
|---|
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| 412 | 412 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 413 | 413 | | mediary under this section for the following fiscal 1 |
|---|
| 414 | 414 | | year unless and until the Secretary determines the 2 |
|---|
| 415 | 415 | | national intermediary has remedied such compliance 3 |
|---|
| 416 | 416 | | issue. 4 |
|---|
| 417 | 417 | | (d) N |
|---|
| 418 | 418 | | ATIONALINTERMEDIARY OVERSIGHT.—The 5 |
|---|
| 419 | 419 | | Secretary shall— 6 |
|---|
| 420 | 420 | | (1) monitor the national intermediary to ensure 7 |
|---|
| 421 | 421 | | compliance with the requirements of this Act; 8 |
|---|
| 422 | 422 | | (2) provide technical assistance to assist the na-9 |
|---|
| 423 | 423 | | tional intermediary with such compliance; and 10 |
|---|
| 424 | 424 | | (3) require regular reports on the performance 11 |
|---|
| 425 | 425 | | of the national intermediary, including on the road-12 |
|---|
| 426 | 426 | | map under section 3(a)(5), the use of funds under 13 |
|---|
| 427 | 427 | | section 4(b), and other methods of evaluation. 14 |
|---|
| 428 | 428 | | SEC. 5. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES. 15 |
|---|
| 429 | 429 | | (a) C |
|---|
| 430 | 430 | | ONFORMINGGRANTS.— 16 |
|---|
| 431 | 431 | | (1) I |
|---|
| 432 | 432 | | N GENERAL.— 17 |
|---|
| 433 | 433 | | (A) A |
|---|
| 434 | 434 | | UTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS .—Sub-18 |
|---|
| 435 | 435 | | ject to the availability of appropriations under 19 |
|---|
| 436 | 436 | | section 6(b), the Secretary, acting through the 20 |
|---|
| 437 | 437 | | Employment and Training Administration, 21 |
|---|
| 438 | 438 | | shall, on an annual basis, make a conforming 22 |
|---|
| 439 | 439 | | grant to each eligible State. 23 |
|---|
| 440 | 440 | | (B) A |
|---|
| 441 | 441 | | MOUNT OF GRANT.— 24 |
|---|
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| 445 | 445 | | (i) IN GENERAL.—A grant to an eligi-1 |
|---|
| 446 | 446 | | ble State under this subsection shall be— 2 |
|---|
| 447 | 447 | | (I) not less than $1,500,000 and 3 |
|---|
| 448 | 448 | | not more than $8,000,000; and 4 |
|---|
| 449 | 449 | | (II) subject to subclause (I), 5 |
|---|
| 450 | 450 | | awarded on the basis of the relative 6 |
|---|
| 451 | 451 | | annual level of employment (as pub-7 |
|---|
| 452 | 452 | | lished by the Current Employment 8 |
|---|
| 453 | 453 | | Statistics program of the BLS) of the 9 |
|---|
| 454 | 454 | | eligible State, compared to the annual 10 |
|---|
| 455 | 455 | | level of employment in all eligible 11 |
|---|
| 456 | 456 | | States. 12 |
|---|
| 457 | 457 | | (ii) A |
|---|
| 458 | 458 | | DJUSTMENT.—The amounts 13 |
|---|
| 459 | 459 | | specified in clause (i) shall be ratably in-14 |
|---|
| 460 | 460 | | creased or decreased to the extent that 15 |
|---|
| 461 | 461 | | funds available under section 6(b) exceed 16 |
|---|
| 462 | 462 | | or are less than (respectively) the amount 17 |
|---|
| 463 | 463 | | required to provide the amounts specified 18 |
|---|
| 464 | 464 | | in clause (i). 19 |
|---|
| 465 | 465 | | (2) E |
|---|
| 466 | 466 | | LIGIBLE STATES.— 20 |
|---|
| 467 | 467 | | (A) I |
|---|
| 468 | 468 | | N GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 21 |
|---|
| 469 | 469 | | a grant under paragraph (1), a State shall— 22 |
|---|
| 470 | 470 | | (i) have a State focal; and 23 |
|---|
| 471 | 471 | | (ii) participate in the I–PLAN in good 24 |
|---|
| 472 | 472 | | faith. 25 |
|---|
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| 475 | 475 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 476 | 476 | | (B) GOOD FAITH REQUIREMENT .— 1 |
|---|
| 477 | 477 | | (i) W |
|---|
| 478 | 478 | | ITHHOLDING.—If the Secretary, 2 |
|---|
| 479 | 479 | | in consultation with the national inter-3 |
|---|
| 480 | 480 | | mediary awarded the grant under section 4 |
|---|
| 481 | 481 | | 4(a), determines that a State is not par-5 |
|---|
| 482 | 482 | | ticipating in the I–PLAN in good faith, 6 |
|---|
| 483 | 483 | | the Secretary— 7 |
|---|
| 484 | 484 | | (I) shall provide warning and 8 |
|---|
| 485 | 485 | | feedback to States in a prompt man-9 |
|---|
| 486 | 486 | | ner; and 10 |
|---|
| 487 | 487 | | (II) if, six months after the date 11 |
|---|
| 488 | 488 | | on which the Secretary provides such 12 |
|---|
| 489 | 489 | | warning and feedback, the Secretary 13 |
|---|
| 490 | 490 | | determines such State continues not 14 |
|---|
| 491 | 491 | | to participate in the I–PLAN in good 15 |
|---|
| 492 | 492 | | faith, the Secretary may elect to with-16 |
|---|
| 493 | 493 | | hold a portion or the total amount of 17 |
|---|
| 494 | 494 | | a grant under paragraph (1) to such 18 |
|---|
| 495 | 495 | | State. 19 |
|---|
| 496 | 496 | | (ii) R |
|---|
| 497 | 497 | | ESTORATION.—If the Secretary 20 |
|---|
| 498 | 498 | | elects to withhold an amount from a State 21 |
|---|
| 499 | 499 | | under clause (i)(II), the Secretary may 22 |
|---|
| 500 | 500 | | later elect to provide the amount so with-23 |
|---|
| 501 | 501 | | held to such State if the Secretary later 24 |
|---|
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| 504 | 504 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 505 | 505 | | determines that such State is participating 1 |
|---|
| 506 | 506 | | in good faith. 2 |
|---|
| 507 | 507 | | (b) I |
|---|
| 508 | 508 | | MPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 3 |
|---|
| 509 | 509 | | (1) I |
|---|
| 510 | 510 | | N GENERAL.— 4 |
|---|
| 511 | 511 | | (A) A |
|---|
| 512 | 512 | | UTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS .—Sub-5 |
|---|
| 513 | 513 | | ject to the availability of appropriations under 6 |
|---|
| 514 | 514 | | section 6(c), the Secretary, acting through the 7 |
|---|
| 515 | 515 | | Employment and Training Administration, 8 |
|---|
| 516 | 516 | | shall, on an annual basis, make an implementa-9 |
|---|
| 517 | 517 | | tion grant to each eligible State. 10 |
|---|
| 518 | 518 | | (B) A |
|---|
| 519 | 519 | | MOUNT OF GRANT.— 11 |
|---|
| 520 | 520 | | (i) I |
|---|
| 521 | 521 | | N GENERAL.—A grant to an eligi-12 |
|---|
| 522 | 522 | | ble State under this subsection shall be— 13 |
|---|
| 523 | 523 | | (I) not less than $1,500,000 and 14 |
|---|
| 524 | 524 | | not more than $8,000,000; and 15 |
|---|
| 525 | 525 | | (II) subject to subclause (I), 16 |
|---|
| 526 | 526 | | awarded on the basis of the relative 17 |
|---|
| 527 | 527 | | annual level of employment (as pub-18 |
|---|
| 528 | 528 | | lished by Current Employment Statis-19 |
|---|
| 529 | 529 | | tics program of the BLS) of the eligi-20 |
|---|
| 530 | 530 | | ble State, compared to the annual 21 |
|---|
| 531 | 531 | | level of employment in all eligible 22 |
|---|
| 532 | 532 | | States. 23 |
|---|
| 533 | 533 | | (ii) A |
|---|
| 534 | 534 | | DJUSTMENT.—The amounts 24 |
|---|
| 535 | 535 | | specified in clause (i) shall be ratably in-25 |
|---|
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| 537 | 537 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19 |
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| 538 | 538 | | •HR 3090 IH |
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| 539 | 539 | | creased or decreased to the extent that 1 |
|---|
| 540 | 540 | | funds available under section 6(c) exceed 2 |
|---|
| 541 | 541 | | or are less than (respectively) the amount 3 |
|---|
| 542 | 542 | | required to provide the amounts specified 4 |
|---|
| 543 | 543 | | in clause (i). 5 |
|---|
| 544 | 544 | | (2) E |
|---|
| 545 | 545 | | LIGIBILITY.— 6 |
|---|
| 546 | 546 | | (A) I |
|---|
| 547 | 547 | | N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-7 |
|---|
| 548 | 548 | | graph (B), to be eligible to receive a grant 8 |
|---|
| 549 | 549 | | under paragraph (1), a State shall— 9 |
|---|
| 550 | 550 | | (i) meet the requirements of sub-10 |
|---|
| 551 | 551 | | section (a)(2)(A); and 11 |
|---|
| 552 | 552 | | (ii) have entered into the I–PLAN 12 |
|---|
| 553 | 553 | | Agreement. 13 |
|---|
| 554 | 554 | | (B) L |
|---|
| 555 | 555 | | IMITATION.—A State described in 14 |
|---|
| 556 | 556 | | subparagraph (A) shall be ineligible to receive a 15 |
|---|
| 557 | 557 | | grant for any fiscal year beginning after the 16 |
|---|
| 558 | 558 | | date that is 4 years after the date on which 17 |
|---|
| 559 | 559 | | such State enters into the I–PLAN Agreement 18 |
|---|
| 560 | 560 | | in which such State does not meet the require-19 |
|---|
| 561 | 561 | | ments of such Agreement. 20 |
|---|
| 562 | 562 | | (c) U |
|---|
| 563 | 563 | | SE OFFUNDS.—A State may use grants re-21 |
|---|
| 564 | 564 | | ceived under this section— 22 |
|---|
| 565 | 565 | | (1) to help pay administrative costs, including 23 |
|---|
| 566 | 566 | | costs related to— 24 |
|---|
| 567 | 567 | | (A) customer service; 25 |
|---|
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| 571 | 571 | | (B) staffing and training; 1 |
|---|
| 572 | 572 | | (C) technology; 2 |
|---|
| 573 | 573 | | (D) data sharing; 3 |
|---|
| 574 | 574 | | (E) identity validation; and 4 |
|---|
| 575 | 575 | | (F) program awareness; and 5 |
|---|
| 576 | 576 | | (2) to help small businesses, as defined by the 6 |
|---|
| 577 | 577 | | State, afford employer payroll contributions or ac-7 |
|---|
| 578 | 578 | | cess other forms of technical and operational assist-8 |
|---|
| 579 | 579 | | ance related to State paid family and medical leave. 9 |
|---|
| 580 | 580 | | SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 10 |
|---|
| 581 | 581 | | (a) N |
|---|
| 582 | 582 | | ATIONALINTERMEDIARY GRANT.—There are 11 |
|---|
| 583 | 583 | | authorized to be appropriated not more than $10,000,000 12 |
|---|
| 584 | 584 | | for the purposes of section 4 for each of fiscal years 2026 13 |
|---|
| 585 | 585 | | through 2028. 14 |
|---|
| 586 | 586 | | (b) C |
|---|
| 587 | 587 | | ONFORMINGGRANTS.—There are authorized to 15 |
|---|
| 588 | 588 | | be appropriated not more than $40,000,000 for the pur-16 |
|---|
| 589 | 589 | | poses of section 5(a) for each of fiscal years 2026 through 17 |
|---|
| 590 | 590 | | 2028. 18 |
|---|
| 591 | 591 | | (c) I |
|---|
| 592 | 592 | | MPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—There are author-19 |
|---|
| 593 | 593 | | ized to be appropriated not more than $40,000,000 for 20 |
|---|
| 594 | 594 | | the purposes of section 5(b) for each of fiscal years 2026 21 |
|---|
| 595 | 595 | | through 2028. 22 |
|---|
| 596 | 596 | | Æ |
|---|
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