Requirements for employers relating to no fault attendance policies or attendance systems

(a) Requirements for no fault attendance policy It shall be considered an unlawful employment practice for a covered entity to maintain a no fault attendance policy, unless the covered entity complies with the following: (1) The no fault attendance policy shall be distributed in writing (and be made available in the primary language of the employee receiving the policy)— (A) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, to each employee employed by the covered entity as of that date of distribution; and (B) with respect to each employee hired by the covered entity after such date of enactment, upon the commencement of the employee’s employment. (2) If any changes are made to the no fault attendance policy, the no fault attendance policy shall be distributed to all employees in writing (and be made available in the primary language of the employees), by not later than 30 days after the date of the changes. (3) The covered entity shall provide employees with a means of accessing the no fault attendance policy at any physical workplace, and outside of a physical workplace, in an accessible location. (4) The no fault attendance policy shall explicitly state that employees will not face disciplinary action or other adverse consequences, which may include the assessment of points or a deduction from an allotted bank of time, for legally protected leave. (5) The no fault attendance policy shall specifically reference and provide a reasonable amount of detail about all Federal, State, and local laws applicable to the employees that provide legally protected leave, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), and chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code. (6) The no fault attendance policy shall identify a process for employees to complete each of the following: (A) Report that an absence is for legally protected leave. (B) Provide medical documentation, if it is required under the no fault attendance policy in order to avoid disciplinary action or other adverse consequences for legally protected leave. (C) Seek removal of points that an employee believes were wrongly assessed, or the restoration of time that an employee believes was wrongly deducted for legally protected leave. (D) Delay the reporting of an absence in unforeseen or emergency circumstances without incurring additional points or discipline. (b) Requirements for attendance systems It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a covered entity to maintain any attendance system policy, or pattern and practice, that discourages employees from exercising, or attempting to exercise, any right to legally protected leave.