Bill Text: FL S0726 | 2013 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Regulation of Family or Medical Leave Benefits for Employees
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (? 4-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-25 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 655 (Ch. 2013-200) [S0726 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0726-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Regulation of Family or Medical Leave Benefits for Employees
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (? 4-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-25 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 655 (Ch. 2013-200) [S0726 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0726-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2013 CS for CS for SB 726 By the Committees on Health Policy; and Community Affairs; and Senator Simmons 588-02795-13 2013726c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the regulation of family or medical 3 leave benefits for employees; providing definitions; 4 prohibiting a political subdivision from requiring or 5 otherwise regulating family or medical leave benefits 6 for employees; preempting regulation of family or 7 medical leave benefits to the state; creating the 8 Employer-Sponsored Benefits Study Task Force; 9 directing Workforce Florida, Inc., to provide 10 administrative and staff support services for the task 11 force; establishing the purpose and composition of the 12 task force; providing for reimbursement for per diem 13 and travel expenses; requiring the task force to 14 submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by 15 a specified date; providing report requirements; 16 providing for future repeal of the task force; 17 providing that the act does not prohibit a political 18 subdivision from establishing family or medical leave 19 benefits for its employees; providing that the act 20 does not prohibit a federally authorized or recognized 21 tribal government from requiring family or medical 22 leave benefits under certain conditions; providing an 23 effective date. 24 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26 27 Section 1. Family or medical leave benefits for employees.— 28 (1) As used in this section, the term: 29 (a) “Employee” and the term “employer” have the same 30 meanings as established in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act 31 of 1938, 29 U.S.C. s. 203. 32 (b) “Family or medical leave” means a period of absence 33 from employment, paid or unpaid, used by an employee to deal 34 with a health condition or seek medical attention, to assist 35 another person dealing with a health condition or seeking 36 medical attention, or to give birth to or adopt a child. The 37 term does not include leave related to and arising directly from 38 domestic violence. 39 (c) “Political subdivision” means a county, municipality, 40 department, commission, special district, board, or other public 41 body, whether corporate or otherwise, created by or under state 42 law. 43 (2) A political subdivision may not require an employer to 44 provide family or medical leave benefits to an employee and may 45 not otherwise regulate such leave. For purposes of uniform 46 application of this section throughout the state, with the 47 exception of family or medical leave benefits regulated under 48 federal law or regulations, the regulation of family and medical 49 leave benefits is expressly preempted to the state. 50 (3)(a) There is created the Employer-Sponsored Benefits 51 Study Task Force. Workforce Florida, Inc., shall provide 52 administrative and staff support services relating to the 53 functions of the task force. The task force shall organize by 54 September 1, 2013. The task force shall be composed of 11 55 members. The Director of Workforce Florida, Inc., shall serve as 56 a member and chair of the task force. The Speaker of the House 57 of Representatives shall appoint one member who is an economist 58 with a background in business economics. The President of the 59 Senate shall appoint one member who is a physician licensed 60 under chapter 458 or chapter 459 with at least 5 years of 61 experience in the active practice of medicine. In addition, the 62 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 63 Representatives shall each appoint four additional members to 64 the task force. The four appointments from the President of the 65 Senate and the four appointments from the Speaker of the House 66 of Representatives must each include: 67 1. A member of the Legislature. 68 2. An owner of a business in this state which employs fewer 69 than 50 people. 70 3. An owner or representative of a business in this state 71 which employs more than 50 people. 72 4. A representative of an organization who represents the 73 nonmanagement employees of a business. 74 (b) Members of the task force shall serve without 75 compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and 76 travel expenses in accordance with s. 112.061. 77 (c) The purpose of the task force is to analyze employer 78 sponsored family or medical leave benefits and the impact of 79 state preemption of the regulation of such benefits. The task 80 force shall develop a report that includes its findings and 81 recommendations for legislative action regarding the regulation 82 of family or medical leave benefits. The task force shall submit 83 the report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the 84 Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 15, 2014. 85 (d) This subsection is repealed June 30, 2014. 86 (4) This section does not limit the authority of a 87 political subdivision to establish family or medical leave 88 benefits for the employees of the political subdivision. 89 (5) This section does not prohibit a federally authorized 90 and recognized tribal government from requiring family or 91 medical leave benefits for a person employed within a territory 92 over which the tribe has jurisdiction. 93 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.