Bill Text: IA SF195 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to a family leave and medical leave insurance program that provides for paid, job-protected leave for certain family leave and medical leave reasons for eligible employees of specified employers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-15 - Subcommittee reassigned: Guth, Boulton, and Brown. S.J. 85. [SF195 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-SF195-Introduced.html

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Senate File 195 - Introduced
SENATE FILE 195
BY BOULTON , R. TAYLOR ,
QUIRMBACH , BOLKCOM ,
PETERSEN , JOCHUM , J.
SMITH , WAHLS , DOTZLER , and
T. TAYLOR
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to a family leave and medical leave insurance
program that provides for paid, job-protected leave for
certain family leave and medical leave reasons for eligible
employees of specified employers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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Section 1. Section 7E.5, subsection 1, paragraph h, Code
2019, is amended to read as follows:
h. The department of workforce development, created
in section 84A.1 , which has primary responsibility for
administering the laws relating to unemployment compensation
insurance, job placement and training, employment safety, labor
standards, workers’ compensation, the family leave and medical
insurance program, and related matters.
Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 96A.1 Short title.
This chapter may be cited as the “Iowa Family and Medical
Leave Act” .
Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 96A.2 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1. “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child,
a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in
loco parentis, regardless of the child’s age or dependency
status.
2. “Covered employer” means a private sector employer who
has ten or more employees for each working day during each of
twenty or more calendar workweeks in the current or previous
calendar year and a public employer without regard to the
number of employees employed.
3. “Department” means the department of workforce
development.
4. “Director” means the director of the department of
workforce development.
5. “Employee” means the same as defined in section 91A.2.
“Employee” does not include an independent contractor, a self-
employed person, or a patient or inmate employed by a state
or local institution to which the patient or inmate has been
sentenced or committed.
6. “Employer” means the same as defined in 91A.2.
“Employer” includes a temporary staffing agency or employment
agency.
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7. “Employment benefits” means all benefits provided or
made available to an employee by an employer, including group
life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick
leave, annual leave, educational benefits, and pensions except
benefits that are provided by a practice or written policy of
an employer or through an employee benefit plan as defined in
29 U.S.C. §1002(3).
8. “Family leave” means a leave taken from work by an
employee for any of the following reasons:
a. To participate in providing care, including physical or
psychological care, for a family member of the employee made
necessary by a serious health condition of the family member.
b. To bond with the employee’s child after the child’s
birth or with a child under the age of eighteen placed with the
employee for adoption or foster care.
c. Because of a qualifying exigency for a family member as
permitted under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of
1993, as amended, and federal regulations as provided in 29
C.F.R. §825.126.
9. “Family member” means a child, parent, or spouse of an
employee.
10. “Gross earnings” means the same as defined in section
85.61.
11. “Health care provider” means a physician or other
health care practitioner licensed, accredited, registered, or
certified to perform specified health care services consistent
with state law.
12. “In loco parentis” means an individual who has
day-to-day responsibilities to care for or financially support
a child.
13. “Inpatient care” means an overnight stay in a hospital,
hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any
period of incapacity, or any subsequent treatment in connection
with such inpatient care.
14. “Medical leave” means a leave from work taken by an
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employee made necessary by the employee’s own serious health
condition.
15. “Parent” means a biological, adoptive, step, or foster
father or mother, or any other individual who stands in
loco parentis to an employee or who stood in loco parentis
when the employee was a child. “Parent” does not include a
parent-in-law.
16. “Period of incapacity” means an inability to work,
attend school, or perform other regular daily activities due
to a serious health condition, treatment of a serious health
condition, or recovery from a serious health condition.
17. “Premium” or “premiums” means the payments required by
section 96A.12 and paid to the department for deposit in the
family and medical leave insurance account pursuant to section
96A.22.
18. “Public employer” means the state of Iowa, its
boards, commissions, agencies, departments, and its political
subdivisions including school districts and other special
purpose districts.
19. “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury,
impairment, physical condition, or mental condition that
involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, medical care
facility, or continued treatment or continuing supervision by
a health care provider.
20. “Spendable weekly earnings” means the amount remaining
after payroll taxes are deducted from an employee’s gross
weekly earnings.
21. “Spouse” means the person with whom an individual has
entered into marriage as defined or recognized under state law
for purposes of marriage in the state in which the marriage
was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into
outside of any state, if the marriage is valid in the place
where the marriage was entered into and the marriage could have
been entered into in at least one state, including a same sex
or common law marriage.
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22. “Wages” means the same as defined in section 91A.2.
Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 96A.3 Benefit eligibility.
An employee is eligible for family leave and medical leave
as provided in this chapter after working for a covered
employer for both a minimum of twelve consecutive months
immediately preceding the employee’s request for leave and a
minimum of one thousand two hundred fifty hours during that
twelve-consecutive-month period.
Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 96A.4 Leave entitlement for a defined
twelve-month period.
1. An employee is entitled to a maximum of twelve weeks
of family leave during a defined period of twelve consecutive
months.
2. An employee is entitled to a maximum of twelve weeks of
medical leave during a defined period of twelve consecutive
months unless the employee experiences a serious health
condition, which is pregnancy-related, that results in a longer
period of incapacity in which case any extended medical leave
beyond twelve weeks shall conform with section 216.6.
3. An employee is entitled to a maximum combined total of
paid family leave and medical leave of sixteen weeks during a
defined period of twelve consecutive months.
4. An employee is not entitled to family leave or medical
leave of less than eight consecutive hours.
Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 96A.5 Calculating the defined
twelve-month period.
The defined period of twelve consecutive months for
calculation of an eligible employee’s family leave or medical
leave entitlement begins on any of the following:
1. The date of birth of an employee’s child or the date
of placement of a child for adoption or foster care with the
employee.
2. The first day of family leave that an employee takes for
a family member’s serious health condition or a family member’s
qualifying exigency.
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3. The first day of medical leave.
Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 96A.6 Disqualification from leave
entitlement.
An eligible employee is disqualified for family leave or
medical leave benefits under this chapter for any of the
following:
1. An absence due to the employee’s willful intention to
injure or cause a sickness to the employee or to the employee’s
family member.
2. An injury or sickness caused by the employee engaging in
an illegal act.
3. The employee’s absence due to an employer taking any
disciplinary action against the employee.
Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 96A.7 Employee notice to employer of
intent to take leave.
1. If leave for the birth of a child or placement of a child
for adoption or foster care with an employee is foreseeable,
the employee shall provide written notice not less than thirty
calendar days before the date the leave is to begin.
2. If the birth of a child or placement of a child for
adoption or foster care with an employee requires leave to
begin in less than thirty calendar days, the employee shall
provide written notice as far in advance as is practicable.
3. If leave for a family member’s serious health condition
or an employee’s serious health condition is foreseeable based
on planned medical treatment, the employee shall do all of the
following:
a. Make a reasonable effort to schedule such medical
treatment, subject to the recommendation of the employee’s or
family member’s health care provider as appropriate, to not
unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
b. Provide the employer with not less than thirty calendar
days prior written notice of the employee’s intention to take
leave for a family member’s serious health condition or the
employee’s serious health condition.
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4. If leave for a family member’s serious health condition
or an employee’s serious health condition is not foreseeable,
the employee shall provide written notice as far in advance as
is practicable.
Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 96A.8 Weekly claim, certification, and
verification.
Beginning January 1, 2024, family leave or medical leave
insurance benefits are payable to an employee during a period
in which the employee is unable to perform the employee’s
regular or customary work because the employee is on family
leave or medical leave if the employee meets all of the
following requirements:
1. The employee files a weekly claim for benefits with the
department as required per rules adopted by the director.
2. The employee meets the eligibility requirements pursuant
to section 96A.3 or the elective coverage requirements pursuant
to section 96A.14.
3. The employee consents to the disclosure of information or
records that may be deemed private or confidential under state
or federal law. Disclosure of such information and records by
another state agency or an employer to the department shall
be solely for purposes related to the administration of this
chapter. Information and records disclosed by an employee
under this chapter shall not be public records as defined in
section 22.1.
4. The employee authorizes the health care provider of the
employee’s family member or of the employee, as applicable, to
complete a certification of a serious health condition in a
form as required by the director.
5. The employee attests that written notice has been
provided to the employee’s employer per section 96A.7.
6. The employee provides documentation of a family member’s
qualifying exigency if requested by the employee’s employer.
Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 96A.9 Waiting period for leave
benefits.
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Family leave or medical leave insurance benefits shall be
payable to an eligible employee following a waiting period
consisting of the first seven calendar days of leave. However,
no such waiting period applies to a leave for the birth or
placement of a child with an eligible employee.
Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 96A.10 Weekly leave benefit amount.
1. The basis for the calculation of a leave benefit amount
shall be the weekly earnings of an eligible employee on the
day the leave is granted. “Weekly earnings” means the gross
earnings of an employee to which such employee would have been
entitled had the employee worked the employee’s customary hours
for the full pay period in which the employee is on family
leave or medical leave. Weekly earnings shall be computed as
follows, rounded to the nearest dollar, for an employee who is
paid on the following basis:
a. On a weekly pay period basis, the weekly earnings are the
weekly gross earnings.
b. On a biweekly pay period basis, the weekly earnings are
one-half of the biweekly gross earnings.
c. On a semimonthly pay period basis, the weekly earnings
are the semimonthly gross earnings multiplied by twenty-four
and then divided by fifty-two.
d. On a monthly pay period basis, the weekly earnings
are the monthly gross earnings multiplied by twelve and then
divided by fifty-two.
e. On a yearly pay period basis, the weekly earnings shall
be the yearly earnings divided by fifty-two.
f. On a daily or hourly basis, or by the output of an
employee, the weekly earnings shall be computed by dividing by
thirteen the earnings, including shift differential pay but
not including overtime or premium pay, of the employee earned
in the last completed period of thirteen consecutive calendar
weeks immediately preceding the start day of the leave. If
the employee was absent from employment for personal reasons
during part of the thirteen calendar weeks preceding the
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leave, the employee’s weekly earnings shall be the amount the
employee would have earned had the employee worked when work
was available to other employees of the employer in a similar
occupation. A week that does not fairly reflect the employee’s
customary earnings shall be replaced by the closest previous
week with earnings that fairly represent the employee’s
customary earnings.
2. If on the date that leave begins an employee’s hourly
earnings cannot be ascertained, the earnings for the purpose
of calculating the benefit amount shall be the usual earnings
for similar services where such services are rendered by paid
employees.
3. If an employee earns either no wages or less than the
usual weekly earnings of a regular full-time adult laborer
in the line of work in which the employee is working in
that locality, the weekly earnings shall be one-fiftieth of
the total earnings which the employee has earned from all
employment during the twelve consecutive calendar months
immediately preceding the date that the employee’s leave
begins.
4. The weekly leave benefit amount payable to an employee
for any one week shall be eighty percent of the employee’s
spendable weekly earnings, but shall not exceed an amount equal
to two hundred percent of the statewide average weekly wage
paid to employees as determined by the department pursuant to
section 96.19 and in effect on the date that the employee’s
leave commences. However, the weekly leave benefit amount
shall be a minimum equal to the lesser of the weekly leave
benefit amount of a person whose gross weekly earnings are
thirty-five percent of the statewide average weekly wage, or to
the spendable weekly earnings of the employee.
Sec. 12. NEW SECTION . 96A.11 Payment of benefits to an
eligible employee.
1. The department shall send the first benefit payment to
an employee within ten calendar days after the first properly
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completed weekly claim from the employee is received by
the department. Subsequent payments shall be sent at least
biweekly to an eligible employee if a properly completed weekly
claim from the employee is received by the department.
2. If an employer contests an employee’s initial claim
for family leave or medical leave benefits, the employer must
notify the employee and the department in the manner prescribed
by the director within ten calendar days of the employer’s
receipt of notice from the department of the employee’s filing
of a claim for benefits pursuant to section 96A.21, subsection
3. Failure to timely contest an initial application shall
constitute a waiver of objection to the family leave or medical
leave claim.
3. If the department or the employer contests an employee’s
eligibility for benefits after the employee begins receiving
benefits the employee shall continue to be paid benefits
conditionally for any weeks for which the employee files a
claim for benefits. The employee’s right to retain such
benefit payments shall be conditioned upon the department’s
finding that the employee is eligible for such benefit
payments.
a. At an employee’s request, the department shall hold
conditional benefit payments until the department resolves the
employee’s eligibility status.
b. Payment shall be issued promptly for any withheld benefit
payments if the department determines that an employee is
eligible for benefits.
c. If the department determines that an employee is
ineligible for the conditionally paid benefits, the employee
shall repay the overpayment per rules as adopted by the
director.
Sec. 13. NEW SECTION . 96A.12 Funding the family leave and
medical leave insurance program.
1. Beginning on January 1, 2022, and ending December
31, 2023, the department shall assess for each employee
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in employment with a covered employer a premium rate of
four-tenths of one percent of an employee’s wages based on the
amount of the individual’s wages, subject to subsection 6.
a. The premium rate for family leave benefits shall be equal
to one-third of the total premium rate.
b. The premium rate for medical leave benefits shall be
equal to two-thirds of the total premium rate.
2. For calendar year 2024 and subsequent calendar years the
director shall determine the percentage of paid claims related
to family leave benefits and the percentage of paid claims
related to medical leave benefits and adjust the premium rates
set in subsection 1 by the proportional share of claims paid
for both types of leave.
3. For family leave premiums a covered employer may deduct
up to forty-five percent of the full amount of the required
premiums from the wages of each employee. The remaining
fifty-five percent of the required premiums shall be paid by
the covered employer.
4. For medical leave premiums a covered employer may deduct
up to forty-five percent of the full amount of the required
premiums from the wages of each employee. The remaining
fifty-five percent of the required premiums shall be paid by
the covered employer.
5. A covered employer may elect to pay all or any portion of
the employee’s share of the premiums for family leave benefits
or medical leave benefits or both.
6. The director shall annually set a maximum limit on the
amount of an employee’s wages that are subject to a premium
assessment under this section that is equal to the contribution
and benefit base for the calendar year as determined by the
United States social security administration for purposes of
26 U.S.C. §3121(a).
7. For calendar year 2024 and subsequent calendar years,
the total premium rate shall be based on the family leave and
medical leave insurance account balance ratio as of September
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30 of the previous year. The director shall calculate the
account balance ratio by dividing the balance of the family
leave and medical leave insurance account by the total wages
paid by covered employers. The division shall be carried
to the fourth decimal place with the remaining fraction
disregarded unless it amounts to five hundred thousandths or
more in which case the fourth decimal place shall be rounded
to the next higher digit. If the family leave and medical
leave insurance account balance ratio is any of the following
percentages, the premium shall be the following percentage of
an employee’s wages subject to a premium assessment:
a. If the ratio is zero to nine hundredths of one percent,
the premium shall be six-tenths of one percent.
b. If the ratio is one-tenth of one percent to nineteen
hundredths of one percent, the premium shall be five-tenths of
one percent.
c. If the ratio is two-tenths of one percent to twenty-nine
hundredths of one percent, the premium shall be four-tenths of
one percent.
d. If the ratio is three-tenths of one percent to
thirty-nine hundredths of one percent, the premium shall be
three-tenths of one percent.
e. If the ratio is four-tenths of one percent to forty-nine
hundredths of one percent, the premium shall be two-tenths of
one percent.
f. If the ratio is five-tenths of one percent or greater,
the premium shall be one-tenth of one percent.
8. Beginning January 1, 2024, if the account balance ratio
calculated in subsection 7 is below five hundredths of one
percent, the director shall assess a solvency surcharge at
the lowest rate necessary to provide revenue to pay for the
administrative and benefit costs of family leave and medical
leave insurance for the calendar year. The solvency surcharge
shall be at least one-tenth of one percent and no more than
six-tenths of one percent and shall be added to the total
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premium rate assessed to each employee of a covered employer
for family leave and medical leave benefits.
9. A covered employer shall collect all required premiums
and surcharges from the employer’s employees through payroll
deductions and shall remit the amount collected and the amount
to be paid by the employer to the department as required by
rules adopted by the director.
10. On September 30 of each year the department shall
average the number of employees reported by an employer over
the last four completed calendar quarters to determine the
number of employees employed by the employer for the purpose
of determining if an employer shall be considered a covered
employer for the next calendar year.
Sec. 14. NEW SECTION . 96A.13 Waiver of premium for
out-of-state employee.
1. An employer may file an application with the department
for a conditional waiver of the payment of family leave and
medical leave premiums assessed under section 96A.12 for an
employee who meets all of the following requirements:
a. The employee is physically based outside of the state.
b. The employee is physically working in the state on a
limited or temporary work schedule.
c. The employee is not expected to be physically working
in the state for one thousand two hundred fifty hours or more
during any consecutive twelve-month period.
2. The department shall approve an application that is
signed by both the employee and the employee’s employer
attesting to compliance with the requirements of subsection 1.
3. If the employee physically works in the state for one
thousand two hundred fifty hours or more in any consecutive
twelve-month period, the conditional waiver shall expire and
the employer and employee shall be responsible for all premiums
pursuant to section 96A.12 for the consecutive twelve-month
period in which the employee worked one thousand two hundred
fifty hours or more. Upon submission of the premiums by the
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employer to the department, the employee shall be credited for
the hours worked during that consecutive twelve-month period
and shall be eligible for benefits under this chapter.
Sec. 15. NEW SECTION . 96A.14 Self-employed persons elective
participation in the family leave and medical leave insurance
program.
1. A self-employed person electing to participate in the
family leave and medical leave insurance program shall be
considered either an employer or employee under this chapter as
the context so dictates.
2. For benefits payable beginning January 1, 2024, a
self-employed person may elect to participate in the family
leave and medical leave insurance program under this chapter
if the self-employed person meets all of the following
requirements:
a. The initial participation period for the self-employed
person must be a minimum of three years.
b. Any subsequent period of participation by the
self-employed person must be for a minimum of one year.
c. The self-employed person must participate in both family
leave and medical leave.
d. One hundred percent of all premiums assessed under
section 96A.12 shall be paid by the self-employed person.
3. A self-employed person shall file a written notice of
election of elective coverage with the department in the manner
required by the director.
4. A self-employed person shall be eligible for
family leave and medical leave benefits after working one
thousand two hundred fifty hours in the state during the
twelve-consecutive-month period immediately following the date
of the written notice the self-employed person filed pursuant
to subsection 3.
5. A self-employed person who has elected coverage may
withdraw from coverage within thirty calendar days after the
end of each participation period pursuant to subsection 2,
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paragraph “a” or “b” , by filing a written notice of withdrawal
as required by the director. The withdrawal shall take effect
no sooner than thirty calendar days after the self-employed
person files the notice of withdrawal.
6. If a self-employed person fails to submit the required
premium payments, the department may cancel the person’s
elective coverage. The cancellation shall be effective no
sooner than thirty days from the date of a written notice
from the department to the self-employed person advising the
self-employed person of the impending cancellation of the
self-employed person’s elective coverage. The department shall
collect all due and unpaid premiums from the self-employed
person for the remainder of the participation period pursuant
to subsection 2, paragraph “a” or “b” .
Sec. 16. NEW SECTION . 96A.15 Employment protection.
1. An eligible employee who takes family leave or medical
leave under this chapter is entitled to any of the following on
the employee’s return from leave:
a. To be restored to the same position held by the employee
when the employee’s leave commenced.
b. To be restored to an equivalent position with equivalent
employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of
employment.
2. As a condition of restoration under subsection 1 for an
employee who has taken medical leave, the employer may apply
a uniform policy to the employee that requires an employee to
provide certification from the employee’s health care provider
that the employee is able to resume work.
3. Taking leave under this chapter shall not result in the
loss of any employment benefits accrued by an employee prior to
the date on which the employee’s leave commenced.
4. This section shall not be construed to entitle a restored
employee to any of the following:
a. The accrual of any seniority or employment benefits
during any period of leave.
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b. Any right, benefit, or position of employment other than
any right, benefit, or position of employment to which the
employee would have been entitled had the employee not taken
leave.
5. This section shall not be construed to prohibit an
employer from requiring an employee on leave to report
periodically to the employer on the status and intention of the
employee to return to work.
6. An employer may deny restoration under this section to
a salaried employee who is among the ten percent highest-paid
employees employed by the employer within seventy-five miles
of the facility at which the employee is employed if all of the
following apply:
a. Denial of restoration is necessary to prevent substantial
and grievous economic injury to the operations of the employer.
b. The employer notifies the employee of the intent of the
employer to deny restoration on such basis at the time the
employer determines such basis exists.
c. The employee is on leave and elects not to return
to employment after receiving the employer’s notice of the
employer’s intent not to restore the employee.
7. This section shall not be construed as providing an
employee greater restoration rights than those required under
the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as amended.
Sec. 17. NEW SECTION . 96A.16 Maintenance of existing health
benefits.
If required by the federal Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993, as amended, an employer shall maintain any
existing health benefits of an employee for the duration of
an employee’s leave under this chapter. If the employer and
the employee normally share the cost of such existing health
benefits, the employee shall remain responsible for the
employee’s share of the cost of such.
Sec. 18. NEW SECTION . 96A.17 Employer submission of reports
and maintenance of records.
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1. As specified by the director and in the form and at the
time as required by the director, an employer shall submit
reports and furnish information related to the family leave and
medical leave insurance program to the director.
2. An employer shall maintain at the employer’s primary
place of business a record of employment for each employee from
which any information needed by the department for purposes of
this chapter may be obtained. Such record shall be maintained
for ten years from the date on which an eligible employee
applies for family leave or medical leave under this chapter.
The record shall be open for inspection by the director at all
times. All personnel and employee medical records shall be
maintained by the employer in compliance with all applicable
federal and state laws.
Sec. 19. NEW SECTION . 96A.18 Coordination of family leave
and medical leave with other laws and with employer policies.
1. Family leave or medical leave taken by an employee under
this chapter shall be in addition to any leave available to
an employee as required by applicable state or federal law
for sickness or temporary disability because of pregnancy or
childbirth.
2. Family leave or medical leave taken by an employee under
this chapter shall be taken concurrently with any leave taken
under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as
amended.
3. An employer may allow an employee who has accrued
vacation, sick, or other paid time off to choose to use either
such accrued time or to receive paid family leave or medical
leave insurance benefits under this chapter.
Sec. 20. NEW SECTION . 96A.19 Relationship to other state
and federal benefits.
In any week an employee is eligible to receive benefits under
chapter 85, 85A, 85B, or 96, or any other applicable state or
federal unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, or
disability insurance laws, the employee is disqualified from
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receiving family leave or medical leave insurance benefits
under this chapter.
Sec. 21. NEW SECTION . 96A.20 Discrimination prohibited.
This chapter shall not be construed to modify or affect any
federal, state, or local law prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of age, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation,
gender identity, national origin, religion, disability, or
other protected category.
Sec. 22. NEW SECTION . 96A.21 Department to administer
family leave and medical leave insurance program and conduct
outreach.
1. The director shall establish and administer the family
leave and medical leave insurance program and disburse family
leave and medical leave benefits to an eligible employee as
specified in this chapter.
2. The director shall establish procedures and forms for
an employee to file an application for benefits under this
chapter.
3. The department shall notify an employer within five
business days of an employee filing a claim for family leave or
medical leave insurance benefits.
4. Information and records pertaining to an employee under
this chapter that are maintained by the department shall
be confidential and shall only be available to department
personnel in the performance of official duties.
5. The director shall develop and implement an outreach
program to ensure that employers and employees are aware of
the family leave and medical leave insurance program and are
aware of the leave benefits available to eligible employees.
Outreach information shall explain in an easy-to-understand
format all of the following:
a. Eligibility requirements.
b. The application process.
c. How weekly benefits are calculated and the minimum and
maximum weekly benefit amount.
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d. Restoration rights.
e. Nondiscrimination rights.
f. Confidentiality.
g. The relationship between employment protection, leave
from employment, wage replacement benefits under this chapter
and other laws, and employer policies.
6. The department shall be authorized to inspect and audit
an employer’s files and records relating to the family leave
and medical leave insurance program under this chapter.
Sec. 23. NEW SECTION . 96A.22 Family leave and medical leave
insurance account.
1. The family leave and medical leave insurance account
is created as a separate account in the state treasury in the
custody of the treasurer of state.
2. The director shall deposit all receipts from premiums
imposed under this chapter into such account. Expenditures
from the account shall be used only for the purposes of the
family leave and medical leave insurance program and only as
authorized by the director.
3. All premiums deposited in the account shall remain in
the account until expended pursuant to the requirements of this
chapter.
Sec. 24. NEW SECTION . 96A.23 Rules.
The director shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A as
necessary to implement and administer this chapter.
Sec. 25. NEW SECTION . 96A.24 Enforcement.
The director may take any action under the director’s
authority to enforce compliance with this chapter.
Sec. 26. Section 84A.1, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
to read as follows:
1. The department of workforce development is created to
administer the laws of this state relating to unemployment
compensation insurance, job placement and training, employment
safety, labor standards, and workers’ compensation , and the
family leave and medical leave insurance program .
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Sec. 27. DIRECTOR ANALYSIS OF FUNDING THE FAMILY LEAVE
AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE PROGRAM AND REPORT TO THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY. The director of the department of workforce
development shall conduct an analysis of the family leave
and medical leave insurance program as funded pursuant to
section 96A.12, as enacted in this Act, and of the benefits
paid pursuant to section 96A.10, as enacted in this Act. The
director shall determine if the premium rates and benefit
levels are appropriate to fully fund and maintain the solvency
of the family leave and medical leave insurance account.
The director shall submit the director’s findings to the
general assembly pursuant to section 7A.11 no later than
January 14, 2020.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
This bill relates to a family leave and medical leave
insurance program (program), administered by the director of
the department of workforce development, that provides for
paid, job-protected leave for certain family leave and medical
leave reasons for eligible employees of specified employers.
An employee is eligible for family leave and medical leave
after working for a covered employer, as defined in the bill,
for a minimum of 12 consecutive months and a minimum of 1,250
hours during the 12 consecutive-month period immediately
preceding the employee’s request for leave. Family leave and
medical leave are defined in the bill. Family leave includes
leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious
health condition, to bond with a newborn child or adopted or
foster child, or for a qualifying exigency for a family member
as permitted under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of
1993, as amended (FMLA). Medical leave includes leave due to
the employee’s own serious health condition. Serious health
condition is defined in the bill.
The bill provides that an eligible employee may not receive
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more than 12 weeks of family leave, 12 weeks of medical leave,
or 16 weeks of combined family and medical leave in a defined
consecutive 12-month period. The defined consecutive 12-month
period begins on the date of the birth of a child or placement
of a child for adoption or foster care with an eligible
employee, or on the first date that an eligible employee takes
either family leave or medical leave. The minimum duration of
leave an eligible employee may take is eight consecutive hours.
An employee is disqualified for family leave and medical
leave benefits for an absence due to the employee purposefully
causing injury or sickness to the employee or a family member,
for an absence caused by an illness or injury due to the
employee engaging in an illegal act, or an absence due to an
employer taking disciplinary action against the employee.
An employee must provide a minimum of 30 days notice to an
employer of the employee’s intent to take leave for the birth
of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care,
or of the employee’s intent to take family leave or medical
leave. If circumstances require an employee’s leave to begin
in less than 30 days, the employee must give as much notice as
is practicable. If an eligible employee requests medical leave
or family leave, the employee must make a reasonable effort to
schedule their own, or their family member’s medical treatment,
to not unduly disrupt the employer’s operations.
The bill requires an eligible employee to file a claim
for benefits as required by the director. The employee
must consent to the disclosure of potentially private or
confidential information to and from the department, and the
employee’s employer, for administration of the family leave
or medical leave. The bill specifies that such information
is not a public record pursuant to Code section 22.1. The
employee must attest that the employee has provided notice of
the employee’s intent to take leave to the employee’s employer.
The employee must also authorize the employee’s, or the
employee’s family member’s health care provider, to complete
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a certification of a serious health condition as required by
the director.
The bill provides for a seven-day waiting period before
benefits are payable. There is no waiting period for benefits
for leave for the birth of a child or placement of a child for
adoption or foster care.
The basis for the calculation of the amount of a family
leave or medical leave benefit is an eligible employee’s weekly
earnings as defined in the bill. The weekly leave benefit
amount payable to an employee for any one week is 80 percent
of the employee’s weekly spendable earnings, but must not
exceed an amount equal to 200 percent of the statewide average
weekly wage paid to employees as determined by the department
of workforce development. The minimum weekly leave benefit
amount is equal to the weekly leave benefit amount of a person
whose gross weekly earnings are 35 percent of the statewide
average weekly wage, or to the spendable weekly earnings of the
employee, whichever is less. “Spendable weekly earnings” is
defined in the bill as the amount remaining after payroll taxes
are deducted from an employee’s gross weekly earnings.
The department must send the first benefit payment to an
eligible employee within 10 days after a properly completed
weekly claim for benefits is received by the department. If
the employee continues to submit a properly completed weekly
claim, subsequent payments are to be made to the employee at
least biweekly. If an employer, or the department, contests
an employee’s eligibility, benefit payments may be made on
a conditional basis. The employee is required to pay the
benefits back if the department later rules that the employee
is ineligible to receive such benefits.
The bill provides that the program shall be funded via
employee and employer contributions. Beginning on January 1,
2022, and ending on December 31, 2023, the department must
assess a covered employer a premium rate of four-tenths of one
percent of an employee’s weekly wages, subject to a maximum
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limit of wages subject to the assessment, as determined by
the director based on the maximum wages subject to taxation
for social security. One-third of the premium is to be used
to fund family leave insurance benefits and two-thirds of the
premium is to be used to fund medical leave benefits. The
covered employer may deduct the full amount of the family leave
premium from an employee’s wage. A covered employer may deduct
up to 45 percent of the medical leave premium and 45 percent of
the family leave premium from an employee’s wage. The employer
must pay the remaining 55 percent of both the medical leave and
family leave premiums, and may elect to pay all or any portion
of an employee’s share of such premiums. Beginning January
1, 2024, the premium rate shall be calculated by the director
based on the family leave and medical leave insurance account
balance ratio as of September 30 of the previous calendar year.
The premium rate is adjusted based on the balance ratio as
detailed in the bill. If the balance ratio falls below five
hundredths of one percent, the bill requires the director to
assess a solvency surcharge that is added to the total premium
rate assessed to a covered employer. The minimum solvency
surcharge is one-tenth of one percent and the maximum is
six-tenths of one percent.
On September 30 of each year, the bill requires the
department to average the number of employees reported by an
employer over the last four completed calendar quarters to
determine if the employer is a covered employer for the next
calendar year.
The bill requires a covered employer to collect all assessed
premiums and surcharges from the employer’s employees through
payroll deduction and to remit all premiums to the department
as required by the director.
An employer may apply for, and the director must grant, a
waiver of premiums for an employee who is located physically
outside of the state and not expected to work in the state for
1,250 or more hours in any consecutive 12-month period. If
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the employee subsequently works 1,250 or more hours within
the state, the employer and employee are responsible for all
premiums that should have been collected.
Self-employed persons may elect to participate in the
program for a minimum initial participation period of three
years. Any subsequent period of participation must be for
a minimum of one year. A self-employed person must pay
the employee and employer’s portion of the premium assessed
by the director. A self-employed person who elects to
participate in the program is eligible for family leave and
medical leave benefits after working a minimum of 1,250 hours
in the consecutive 12-month period immediately following
the person’s election to participate in the program. The
self-employed person may withdraw from the program by providing
written notice to the director. The director may cancel the
self-employed person’s elective coverage for failure to submit
the required premiums.
An eligible employee who takes family leave or medical leave
is entitled to restoration of employment equal to but not
greater than that provided by FMLA. The bill provides that if
required under FMLA, an employer must maintain any existing
health benefits during an employee’s leave. If the employer
and employee normally share the cost of such, the employee is
responsible for paying the employee’s share of the costs.
A covered employer must submit reports as required by the
director and maintain employment records for each employee
from which the director may obtain information related to an
employee’s family leave or medical leave. Such records must
be maintained for 10 years from the date on which an employee
first takes a family leave or medical leave.
The bill provides that family leave or medical leave shall
be in addition to leave required under state or federal law
for sickness or temporary disability due to pregnancy or
childbirth. The bill requires family leave or medical leave
taken under this program to be taken concurrently with leave
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taken under FMLA. A covered employer may allow an employee
to choose to use either accrued sick or vacation benefits, or
family leave and medical leave benefits. An employee cannot
receive family or medical leave benefits at the same time the
employee is receiving state or federal unemployment, workers’
compensation, or disability benefits. The bill prohibits
discrimination on the basis of any state or federally protected
category.
The bill requires the director to administer the program and
to provide outreach to ensure that employers and employees are
aware of the program and the benefits available under such.
The bill provides that a family leave and medical leave
insurance account shall be created in the custody of the
treasurer of state. The director shall deposit all premiums
collected from employers into such account and the account can
only be used for the program as authorized by the director.
The bill requires the director to adopt rules as necessary
to implement and administer the provisions of the bill. The
director may take any action under the director’s authority to
enforce compliance with the bill.
Code section 84A.1(1) is amended to require the department
of workforce development to administer the laws relating to the
program.
The director is required to analyze the funding of the
program and the benefits payable from the program’s account.
The director shall determine if the premium rates and the
benefit levels are appropriate to fully fund and maintain the
solvency of the program. The director must submit the findings
to the general assembly no later than January 14, 2020.
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