Establishment of the State Paid Family Leave Public-Private Partnership Grant Program

(a) In general The Secretary of Labor shall establish and administer a competitive grant program to provide grants to States that have enacted a law establishing a paid family leave program as described in subsection (d). (b) Eligibility To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a State shall— (1) have enacted a State law establishing a paid family leave program as described in subsection (d); and (2) participate in the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network established under section 202(a). (c) Application (1) In general To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a State shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including how the funds will be used, the working population of the State, the percentage of the State’s working population that is able to access a paid family leave benefit, and the source of such benefit. (2) Priority (A) In general The Secretary shall prioritize States— (i) that indicate in the application submitted under paragraph (1) that the covered partnership will use software that is a commercially available off-the-shelf item (as defined in part 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation) to administer benefits; (ii) that have, relative to other States that have submitted an application in a given year, a lower percentage of the working population of the State that have access to a paid family leave benefit at the time of the submission of the application; (iii) that demonstrate in the application that the State has a plan to implement a financing mechanism that does not have long-term reliance on Federal funding; and (iv) that demonstrate in the application how the State paid family leave program serves low-income populations. (B) Consideration prohibition The Secretary may not consider whether a State provides benefits in excess of those required under subsection (d) when deciding which States shall receive a grant under this title. (d) Paid family leave program requirements (1) Program requirements A paid family leave program described in this subsection shall, at a minimum— (A) provide, through the covered partnership, a paid family leave benefit to eligible employees because of— (i) the birth of a son or daughter of an eligible employee and in order to care for such son or daughter; and (ii) the placement of a son or daughter with the eligible employee for adoption; (B) provide 6 weeks of paid family leave benefits; (C) annually establish a weekly maximum benefit amount that is equal to 150 percent of the State’s average weekly wage (based on the most recent calendar year for which data is available from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program of the BLS); (D) only permit an eligible employee to be entitled to a leave benefit under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) for a birth or placement of a son or daughter during the 12-month period beginning on the date of such birth or placement; (E) require the establishment and use of a covered partnership; and (F) establish premium rates or a financing method to fund the paid family leave program for employees, employers, or both to pay. (2) Paid family leave benefit For the purposes of this title, a paid family leave benefit provided to an eligible employee shall, at a minimum, include weekly compensation in an amount (not to exceed the amount described in paragraph (1)(C)) equal to the product of the average weekly earnings of the eligible employee and— (A) in the case of an eligible employee whose earnings for the 4 most recently completed calendar quarters that immediately precede the paid family leave benefit request are less than or equal to the poverty line (as defined in section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902)) applicable to a 4-person household, 67 percent; (B) in the case of an eligible employee whose earnings for such calendar quarters are more than such poverty line, but less than the amount that is double such poverty line, a percentage equal to— (i) 67 percent, minus (ii) the product of— (I) 17 percent; and (II) the percentage by which the employee’s earnings exceed such poverty line; or (C) in the case of any other eligible employee, 50 percent. (3) Recalculation of benefit amount The weekly compensation calculated under paragraph (2) for an eligible employee shall be recalculated each time such employee applies for a paid family leave benefit. (4) Employees with multiple employers In the case that an employee is employed by multiple employers, such an employee is entitled to receive a benefit from each employer, but the employee may not receive a total combined weekly benefit in excess of the maximum benefit amount established by a State pursuant to paragraph (1)(C). (5) Employer self-administration flexibility In the case that a State’s paid family leave program includes a requirement for employer participation, States shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section only if they allow employers to self-administer paid family leave benefits to eligible employees, provided such benefits meet or exceed the paid family leave program established by the State that meets the requirements of this subsection. (6) Rule of construction Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the ability of a State to provide additional paid family leave benefits (including benefits for reasons described in section 102(a)(1) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1))) in excess of the benefits required to be provided under this subsection. (e) Use of Funds Grants awarded under this section may be used by States for the following purposes: (1) Start up costs for the implementation of the paid family leave program. (2) To pay out benefits to eligible employees, but only for the reasons described in subsection (d)(1)(A). (3) To fund the covered partnership. (4) Paid family leave program design. (5) Purchasing and maintaining any necessary software. (6) Establishing a covered partnership. (7) Obtaining technical assistance for the State or the covered partnership to carry out a paid family leave program. (8) Outreach to employers, payroll providers, relevant professional or trade associations, and the general public to increase awareness of the State’s paid family leave program and to convey relevant information such as program eligibility, funding requirements, benefit information, the application process, and any other information the State deems relevant. (9) Other activities to disseminate information about, and otherwise support, the accessibility of the State’s paid family leave program, including the operation and maintenance of a program website, running a call center, and sending marketing materials on the State’s covered partnership to the groups described in paragraph (8). (10) Research to inform the establishment and operation of the State’s paid family leave program, including program evaluations, and the dissemination of such research to the public. (11) To evaluate existing programs and models. (12) To reduce administrative burdens on employers in the State. (f) Grant amounts (1) In general In determining the amount of a grant to be provided to a State, the Secretary shall consider— (A) the size of the working population of the State relative to the size of the working population of the other States that are receiving a grant; (B) the birth rate of the State relative to the other such States; (C) the share of low-income individuals in the State; and (D) the demonstrated need of a State in the grant application. (2) Limits A grant provided under this section may not be less than $1,500,000 and not more than $7,000,000.