S2823119th CongressWALLET

FAMILY Act

Sponsored By: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Introduced

Summary

Creates a national paid family and medical leave insurance program that would pay monthly benefits to people who take caregiving or medical leave. The program centers administration at the Social Security Administration and sets eligibility, benefit formulas, state grant rules, and data-sharing to prevent fraud.

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  • Families: People taking leave for caregiving or a serious health condition would get monthly wage-replacement benefits based on a tiered formula that starts at 85% for low wages and steps down for higher earnings. Initial benefit thresholds in 2026 include $1,257 and $3,500 and the law sets a minimum and maximum monthly benefit.
  • Workers and applicants: Eligibility would depend on wages or self-employment income over the most recent eight quarters with an initial earnings test of $2,000 in 2026. Benefit periods are measured over a year, applications can request retroactive coverage up to 365 days, and the bill requires certifications and appeals processes.
  • States, employers, and administration: The bill preserves and coordinates with state leave laws by creating a "legacy State" category and an annual grant program starting in 2027 for qualifying States, with up to 7% allowed for administrative costs. It would create an Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave inside SSA to run the program, share data with federal and state partners, and require periodic GAO reviews.

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

11 provisions identified: 9 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.

Monthly paid leave amounts for workers

If enacted, this would set how your monthly paid family and medical leave check is calculated. For 2026 the law would pay 85% of average monthly pay up to $1,257, 69% between $1,257 and $3,500, and 50% between $3,500 and $6,200. Your average monthly pay would be the highest calendar year pay in the last three years divided by 12. If you first become eligible in the first full year after enactment your monthly check would be at least $580 and at most $4,000. Later years would raise those limits using the national wage index.

When leave periods can go back in time

If enacted, this would make a benefit period 12 months long and allow retroactive coverage when you were caregiving before you applied. You could get retroactive benefits if you provided qualified caregiving within 90 days before your application. The retroactive period would start on the later of when caregiving first began or the first month inside the 90-day window and run for 365 days.

Who can get monthly FMLI checks

If enacted, this would let you get monthly paid family and medical leave if you apply, were (or expect to be) caregiving in the 90 days before or 30 days after your application, have wages or self-employment income in the lookback period, and meet an 8-quarter earnings test. That earnings test would be $2,000 for benefit periods starting in 2026 and would be indexed later. Applications could be filed starting 18 months after enactment and must include required caregiving statements and certifications.

Protections from employer retaliation

If enacted, this would bar employers from interfering with your right to take leave or apply for benefits. Employers would generally have to restore you to your old or equivalent job and keep your group health coverage while you are on leave. You could sue to recover lost wages, benefits, interest, and other damages, and the agency could also enforce the rules.

New federal office to run paid leave

If enacted, the Social Security Administration would create an Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave run by a Deputy Commissioner. The office would decide who gets benefits, set rules, make payments, prevent fraud, keep records, do outreach, and publish annual reports. The office could access federal data and work with states to run the program efficiently.

How some States keep their paid leave

If enacted, States that already had paid leave laws could be treated as 'legacy States' and get annual federal grants starting in 2027. Each year's grant would be the smaller of a federal estimate of what the federal program would have paid or the State's actual paid-leave costs for the prior year. Grants would require detailed data sharing and reconciliation and cap counted State administration at 7% of benefits.

State and employer leave rights kept

If enacted, this would not override State or local paid leave laws that are similar or better than the federal program. Employer contracts and union agreements that give more leave would still apply and would not be reduced by the federal rules.

When disability or fraud stops payments

If enacted, you could not get FMLI in any month you are entitled to certain federal disability benefits, such as Social Security disability or similar State permanent disability. The bill would also disqualify anyone for one year if convicted under the Social Security false-statement rule or found to have used false statements to get FMLI.

Deadlines for claims and reviews

If enacted, this would require prompt handling of claims. Monthly reports must be filed within 15 days after month end. The agency would have 20 days after getting a report to pay or deny it. You would have 20 days to ask for review of an adverse decision, and the agency would have 20 days to finish the review and pay any additional amounts owed.

Rulemaking and advisory committee setup

If enacted, the Commissioner would write regulations with the Labor Department's input and create a volunteer advisory body of up to 15 members. Appointment slots would be split among the President and Congressional leaders. The group would advise the agency but would not change the law itself.

How caregiving hours and limits work

If enacted, a 'caregiving hour' would equal one hour you spent caregiving. Your credited hours in a benefit period would be capped at 12 times your regular weekly work hours. Any month with fewer than 4 caregiving hours would count as zero for that month. The agency could also reduce your FMLI by certain other periodic benefits like some workers' compensation or unemployment payments.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Kirsten Gillibrand

NY • D

Cosponsors

  • Ron Wyden

    OR • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Angela Alsobrooks

    MD • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Tammy Baldwin

    WI • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Michael Bennet

    CO • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Richard Blumenthal

    CT • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Lisa Blunt Rochester

    DE • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Cory Booker

    NJ • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Christopher Coons

    DE • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Tammy Duckworth

    IL • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Richard Durbin

    IL • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • John Fetterman

    PA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Ruben Gallego

    AZ • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Maggie Hassan

    NH • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Martin Heinrich

    NM • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Mazie Hirono

    HI • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Mark Kelly

    AZ • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Andy Kim

    NJ • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Amy Klobuchar

    MN • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]

    NM • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Edward Markey

    MA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Jeff Merkley

    OR • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Christopher Murphy

    CT • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Patty Murray

    WA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Alex Padilla

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • John Reed

    RI • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Jacky Rosen

    NV • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Bernie Sanders

    VT • I

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Brian Schatz

    HI • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Adam Schiff

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Charles Schumer

    NY • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Jeanne Shaheen

    NH • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Elissa Slotkin

    MI • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Tina Smith

    MN • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Chris Van Hollen

    MD • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Raphael Warnock

    GA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Elizabeth Warren

    MA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Peter Welch

    VT • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

  • Sheldon Whitehouse

    RI • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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