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S5280119th CongressWALLET

Guaranteed Paid Vacation Act

Sponsored By: Senator Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]

Introduced

Summary

Creates a national earned paid annual leave right. The bill would require most covered employers to let workers earn and use paid annual leave that can be taken for any reason and that continues employment benefits while used.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

8 provisions identified: 7 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

State and contract leave protections preserved

If enacted, the Act would not replace any State or local law, ordinance, regulation, contract, collective bargaining agreement, or employer plan that already gives more paid annual leave. Employers and agreements would not be allowed to give you less leave than you already have. The rule would take effect 180 days after enactment.

State waiver when accepting federal funds

If enacted, a State that receives or uses federal financial assistance for a program would waive its sovereign immunity for lawsuits under this Act about that program. The waiver would apply to conduct on or after the day after the State first receives or uses the federal funds for that program or activity. This would let employees of funded state programs sue the State for relief the Act allows.

What counts as paid annual leave

If enacted, "paid annual leave" would include paid vacation, paid personal leave, and other paid leave meant for days you would normally work. The bill would say many other leave types do not count, including FMLA leave, sick leave, bereavement, adoption or foster care leave, domestic violence or sexual assault leave, public health emergency leave, holidays, jury or voting leave, and workers' compensation or disability leave. This clarifies which paid time off counts toward the new earned paid annual leave entitlement.

Which employers must provide leave

If enacted, your employer would be covered if it employs 1 or more employees each working day for 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or prior year. The bill would explicitly name the Government Accountability Office, the Library of Congress, public agencies, rail carriers, and air carriers as covered employers. Any reference to an employer would include predecessor employers. The rule would take effect 180 days after enactment and the GAO and Library of Congress heads would enforce rules for those agencies.

Employer notices and leave tracking

If enacted, employers would have to tell each employee about the paid annual leave policy on or before the first day of work, include it in handbooks, and post it where employee notices are normally shown. Employers would also have to give employees a way to see their accrued leave balances, for example online, on a pay stub, or by written request. The Secretary would issue model notices, guidance, and sample systems within 180 days after enactment.

How federal employees enforce rights

If enacted, federal employees in different job classes would use the existing enforcement process that already applies to them. The bill would map enforcement to existing frameworks for Presidential personnel, Congressional employees, and other specified federal staff. This makes it clearer which procedures and offices handle paid annual leave claims for different federal workers.

Public awareness campaign on paid leave

If enacted, the Secretary would run a public campaign within 1 year to tell workers and employers about the earned paid annual leave right and where to get help. The bill would authorize "such sums as are necessary" to pay for the outreach. The campaign would explain rights and how to file complaints if you believe your rights were violated.

Union contracts and paid leave

If enacted, the Act would generally start 180 days after enactment. For workplaces covered by a collective bargaining agreement in effect then, the Act would instead start on the earlier of the agreement's end date, any post‑effective-date amendment to the agreement, or 18 months after the Act's general start date. The bill would also let employees or unions use a contract's grievance and arbitration procedures to enforce any collectively bargained paid leave terms, in addition to other enforcement options under the Act.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]

VT • I

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]

    CT • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]

    MA • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ]

    AZ • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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