Healthy Families Act
Latest action · Sep 8, 2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 12, 2011
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to permit each employee to earn at least 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.
Declares that an employer shall not be required to permit an employee to earn more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit.
Allows employees to use such time to: (1) meet their own medical needs; (2) care for the medical needs of certain family members; or (3) seek medical attention, assist a related person, take legal action, or engage in other specified activities relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Prohibits an employer from interfering with an employee's exercise of such rights.
Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority for employees covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Grants the same authority, for employees under their jurisdiction, to the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, and the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Authorizes civil actions by employees, individuals, or their representatives for damages or equitable relief against employers who violate this Act.
Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to a suit brought by an employee of a federally-assisted state program or activity for relief authorized under this Act.
Requires the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to annually compile information on paid sick time and the Comptroller General to study related matters.
Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
Cosponsors 118
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 12, 2011 to Oct 16, 2012; 82 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-PA | Allyson Y. Schwartz | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-CA | Brad Sherman | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-NY | Carolyn McCarthy | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-PA | Chaka Fattah | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | May 12, 2011 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | May 12, 2011 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred May 12, 2011 |
| Workforce Protections Subcommittee | Referred Sep 8, 2011 | |
| House | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Referred May 12, 2011 |
| Information Technology Subcommittee | Referred May 13, 2011 | |
| House | Committee on House Administration | Referred May 12, 2011 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 8, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
- May 13, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service, and Labor Policy .
- May 12, 2011Introduced in House
- May 12, 2011Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1959 | Jim McDermott D-WA | Oct 27, 2011 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H3280.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 112-907 | BEYOND MOTHER'S DAY: HELPING THE MIDDLE CLASS BALANCE WORK AND FAMILY66 pages | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | May 10, 2012 |
| Serial No. 112-33 | THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT: IS IT MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WORKPLACE?88 pages | Education and Workforce Committee | Jul 14, 2011 |
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 984 | Healthy Families Act | Related bill | May 12, 2011 |
| S 2252 | Rebuild America Act | Related bill | Mar 29, 2012 |
| HR 2346 | Balancing Act of 2011 | Related bill | Sep 8, 2011 |
| HR 5727 | Rebuild America Act | Related bill | Jun 4, 2012 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Healthy Families Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Domestic violence and child abuse
- Employee leave
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government information and archives
- Government liability
- Government studies and investigations
- Labor and Employment
- Sex offenses
- State and local government operations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 12, 2011Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
