Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§19151 Federal Research Agency Policies for Caregivers

Title 42 › CHAPTER 163 — RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITION, AND INNOVATION › SUBCHAPTER V — BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE › Part A — STEM Opportunities › § 19151

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy must, within 12 months after August 9, 2022, give guidance to federal research agencies so they create caregiver-friendly rules. The guidance must cover all agency research awards and the principal investigators and trainees (like postdocs and grad students) who have caregiving duties, such as caring for a newborn or newly adopted child or an immediate family member with a disability or serious health problem. Agencies should make policies that, when possible, let award starts be flexible, allow no-cost extensions, provide extra funding if needed, and offer other reasonable accommodations. The Director should push for similar rules across agencies. Agencies must adopt and share these policies in easy-to-find formats. They must also consider collecting yearly data, broken down by sex, location, and some socioeconomic factors (for example employment, job type, education level, parents’ education, and income), on who uses the policies at colleges and federal labs, and report that data to the Director each year in the required form.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §19151

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)OSTP guidance

Not later than 12 months after August 9, 2022, the Director, in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies, shall provide guidance to each Federal research agency to establish policies that—

(1)apply to all—

(A)research awards granted by such agency; and

(B)principal investigators of such research and their trainees, including postdoctoral researchers and graduate students, who have caregiving responsibilities, including care for a newborn or newly adopted child and care for an immediate family member who has a disability or a serious health condition; and

(2)provide, to the extent feasible—

(A)flexibility in timing for the initiation of approved research awards granted by such agency;

(B)no-cost extensions of such research awards;

(C)award supplements, as appropriate, to research awards to sustain research activities conducted under such awards; and

(D)any other appropriate accommodations at the discretion of the director of each such agency.

(b)Uniformity of guidance

In providing guidance under subsection (a), the Director shall encourage uniformity, to the extent practicable, and consistency in the policies established pursuant to such guidance across all Federal research agencies.

(c)Establishment of policies

Consistent, to the extent practicable, with the guidance under subsection (a), Federal research agencies shall—

(1)maintain or develop and implement policies for individuals described in paragraph (1)(B) of such subsection; and

(2)broadly disseminate in easily accessible formats such policies to current and potential award recipients.

(d)Data on usage

Federal research agencies shall consider—

(1)collecting data, including demographic data that can be disaggregated by sex, geographic location, and socioeconomic indicators, which may include employment status, occupation, educational attainment, parental education, and income, on the usage of the policies under subsection (c), at both institutions of higher education and Federal laboratories; and

(2)reporting such data on an annual basis to the Director in such form as required by the Director.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 19151

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110