119-hr3090

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3090 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3090

 To establish the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network to provide 
 support and incentives for the development and adoption of an 
 interstate agreement that facilitates streamlined benefit delivery, 
 reduced administrative burden, and coordination and harmonization of 
 State paid family and medical leave programs to benefit employees, 
 States, and employers.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 30, 2025

 Ms. Houlahan (for herself, Mrs. Bice, Ms. Letlow, Ms. Stevens, Mrs. 
 Miller-Meeks, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Feenstra, and Mr. Beyer) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
 Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To establish the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network to provide 
 support and incentives for the development and adoption of an 
 interstate agreement that facilitates streamlined benefit delivery, 
 reduced administrative burden, and coordination and harmonization of 
 State paid family and medical leave programs to benefit employees, 
 States, and employers.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Interstate Paid Leave Action Network 
Act of 2025'' or ``I-PLAN Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) BLS.--The term ``BLS'' means the Bureau of Labor 
 Statistics.

    (2) Employer-provided paid family and medical leave plan.--
 The terms ``employer-provided paid family and medical leave 
 plan'' and ``employer plan'' mean a plan that--
        (A) is provided by an employer to the employees of 
 such employer (whether directly, under a contract with 
 an insurer, or provided through a multiemployer plan);
        (B) is an option for an employer within the 
 structure of a State paid family and medical leave 
 program in such State; and
            (C) meets or exceeds the requirements of the State 
 paid family and medical leave program of the State in 
 which such employee is employed.

    (3) I-PLAN.--The term ``I-PLAN'' means the Interstate Paid 
 Leave Action Network established in 

section 3

    (a) .

    (4) I-PLAN agreement.--The term ``I-PLAN Agreement'' means 
 the interstate agreement produced pursuant to 

section 3

    (b) .

    (5) National intermediary.--The term ``national 
 intermediary'' means a national nongovernmental workforce 
 organization that has extensive experience partnering with the 
 Department of Labor to operate interstate technological systems 
 and the electronic transmission of information and data for 
 State workforce agencies and employers.

    (6) Paid leave.--The term ``paid leave'' means an increment 
 of compensated leave that is provided, in the case of a State 
 program, by such State or, in the case of an employer plan, by 
 such employer for use during a period in which such individual 
 is not working due to a qualifying reason.

    (7) Qualifying reason.--The term ``qualifying reason'' 
 means, in relation to an individual, a reason described in 
 subparagraphs
        (A) through
            (D) of 

section 102

    (a)

    (1) of the 
 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612

    (a)

    (1) ) 
 (applied for purposes of this paragraph as if the individual 
 involved were the employee referred to in such section).

    (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Labor.

    (9) State focal.--The term ``State focal'' means, with 
 respect to a State, an individual--
        (A) designated by the State agency in charge of 
 such State's paid family and medical leave program to--
            (i) participate in the I-PLAN;
            (ii) lead such State's efforts to adopt and 
 implement the I-PLAN Agreement; and
            (iii) communicate with key paid leave 
 stakeholders across the State; and
        (B) who--
            (i) is employed by such State's paid family 
 and medical leave program; and
            (ii) has knowledge, experience, and 
 authority in paid leave matters.

    (10) State paid family and medical leave program.--The 
 terms ``State paid family and medical leave program'' and 
 ``State program'' mean a program under State law that provides, 
 during any 24-month period, a total of not less than 6 weeks of 
 paid leave to individuals--
        (A) for each qualifying reason; and
        (B) in aggregate.

SEC. 3. INTERSTATE PAID LEAVE ACTION NETWORK.

    (a) In General.--

    (1) Establishment.--There is established an Interstate Paid 
 Leave Action Network the purpose of which is to provide support 
 and incentives for the development and adoption of an 
 interstate agreement in accordance with this Act to benefit 
 employees, States, and employers by--
        (A) facilitating streamlined benefit delivery;
        (B) reducing administrative burden; and
            (C) coordinating and harmonizing State programs.

    (2) Membership.--The I-PLAN shall include a State focal 
 from each State receiving a conforming grant under 

section 5

    (a) .

    (3) Meetings.--The I-PLAN shall meet not less than 3 times 
 in each calendar year.

    (4) Processes.--
        (A) Certification.--States shall certify to the 
 Secretary their participation in the I-PLAN.
        (B) Procedures.--State focals may determine, in 
 coordination with the Secretary, the process for the 
 following:
            (i) the order in which States approach the 
 substance of each I-PLAN requirement;
            (ii) the process by which States reach 
 consensus on such substance and agree to the I-
 PLAN Agreement;
            (iii) the process by which a State may 
 leave the I-PLAN; and
            (iv) other processes relevant to the 
 success and administration of the I-PLAN as the 
 Secretary determines.

    (5) Roadmap.--The I-PLAN shall develop, and annually 
 update, a roadmap for developing and implementing the 
 interstate agreement described in subsection

    (b) including 
 metrics for success.

    (b) Duties.--The duty of the I-PLAN shall be to produce an 
interstate agreement into which States offering a State paid family and 
medical leave program may enter and to periodically update such 
agreement as necessary to improve clarity and scope. Such agreement 
shall be publicly available and pursue each of the following 
requirements:

    (1) Policy standard.--Create a single policy standard with 
 respect to all participating States to facilitate easier 
 compliance with and understanding of paid leave programs across 
 States, including definitions for the following:
        (A) Benefit day, week, and year.
        (B) Base period.
            (C) Intermittent and reduced schedule leave.
            (D) Place of performance.
        (E) Family members.
        (F) Employee eligibility.
        (G) Employee coverage.
        (H) Waiting period.
            (I) Covered wage.

    (2) Administrative standard.--Create a single 
 administrative standard with respect to all participating 
 States to facilitate easier compliance with and understanding 
 of paid leave programs across States, including--
        (A) the process by which employers respond to 
 requests from States to verify and provide employee 
 information for eligibility determinations, including 
 wages and work history;
        (B) the process by which employers provide periodic 
 and permanent notice of the availability of paid leave 
 under a State program or employer plan to employees;
            (C) employees' responsibility to provide notices of 
 leave to their employers;
            (D) timing of and process for collecting payroll 
 contributions;
        (E) coordinating with other types of paid time off 
 and leaves of absence;
        (F) continuing other benefits;
        (G) accessing employee leave information;
        (H) protecting personal information;
            (I) creating and updating written leave materials 
 such as handbooks;
        (J) maintaining records and documentation; and
        (K) if a State program permits employers to elect 
 to provide employer plans, facilitating such election, 
 including by creating a single equivalency standard 
 with respect to all participating States to determine 
 whether the maximum monetary value of an employer plan 
 for the average weekly wage of workers in the State for 
 total covered establishments in all industries (based 
 on the most recent calendar year for which data are 
 available from the Quarterly Census of Employment and 
 Wages program of the BLS) is greater than or equal to 
 the maximum monetary value of a State program (or that 
 of multiple States), taking into account programmatic 
 elements such as--
            (i) how benefit duration, wage replacement, 
 absence of a weekly benefit cap, absence of a 
 waiting week, and other factors interact in a 
 quantitative manner; and
            (ii) how an individual taking paid family 
 and medical leave for a qualifying reason 
 affects the ability of such individual to take 
 paid family and medical leave for another 
 qualifying reason.

    (3) Coordination of benefits across state programs.--Create 
 a single process for State programs to process claims for an 
 individual who has work history across multiple participating 
 States so that a single State program may provide benefits to 
 such individual on the basis of all such work history.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL INTERMEDIARY TO SUPPORT THE INTERSTATE PAID LEAVE 
 ACTION NETWORK.

    (a) Authority To Make Grants.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations under 

section 6

    (a) , the Secretary, acting through the 
Employment and Training Administration, shall award a grant to one 
national intermediary to facilitate the activities of the I-PLAN.

    (b) Use of Funds.--A national intermediary awarded a grant under 
subsection

    (a) shall use funds for the costs related to each of the 
following:

    (1) Meetings.--Meeting activities, including--
        (A) convening the State focals as described in 
 

section 3

    (a)

    (3) , including reasonable travel, 
 transportation, and other expenses of State focals and 
 staff of the national intermediary (and any necessary 
 accompanying State personnel);
        (B) making publicly available information on the 
 agendas and outcomes of such meetings; and
            (C) 
            (i) not later than 12 months after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, making publicly available the 
 roadmap described under 

section 3

    (a)

    (5) ; and
            (ii) making any updates to such roadmap publicly 
 available.

    (2) Annual report.--Producing and making publicly available 
 on an annual basis a report that compares State programs, 
 including information on--
        (A) benefit eligibility;
        (B) the maximum number of weeks an eligible 
 employee is allowed to receive benefits--
            (i) for each qualifying reason; and
            (ii) in aggregate;
            (C) wage replacement rate and how that may vary 
 based on prior earnings;
            (D) maximum weekly benefit amount;
        (E) how such programs are financed by employees and 
 employers, including the payroll tax rate and amount of 
 wages subject to tax;
        (F) whether and how such programs allow employers 
 to provide employer plans, taking into consideration 
 elements such as--
            (i) benefit payment timeliness; and
            (ii) employer and employee administrative 
 complexity;
        (G) whether and how such programs coordinate with 
 other types of paid-time off and leaves of absence;
        (H) the reasons, including qualifying reasons, 
 under which an individual is eligible to take paid 
 family and medical leave; and
            (I) other activities essential for the success, 
 effectiveness, and sustainability of the I-PLAN.

    (3) Outreach and coordination.--Engagement, consulting, and 
 gathering relevant information in coordination with I-PLAN 
 States from a wide range of external stakeholders, including--
        (A) State legislatures;
        (B) Governors;
            (C) employees;
            (D) representatives of employers, including--
            (i) employers with employees in multiple 
 States; and
            (ii) employers with fewer than 50 
 employees;
        (E) self-employed individuals;
        (F) policy experts and other organizations with 
 expertise on paid leave and unemployment compensation 
 programs; and
        (G) Tribal governments.

    (4) Standardized and interoperable technology system for 
 wages.--Providing a standardized technology-based system to 
 facilitate States' ability to carry out the I-PLAN Agreement, 
 allowing States to process interstate claims and strengthen 
 program integrity, that--
        (A) adopts or leverages modular technology that--
            (i) ensures privacy, security, and prompt 
 data availability;
            (ii) enhances and streamlines the claimant, 
 employer, and participating State experience; 
 and
            (iii) is interoperable with other relevant 
 State systems; and
        (B) permits States to report on, to the extent 
 reasonable and technologically feasible, and 
 disaggregated by qualifying reason, on trends such as--
            (i) the number of initial and continued 
 benefit claims;
            (ii) average duration of benefits;
            (iii) average weekly benefit amount;
            (iv) average time between filing a claim 
 and receiving an initial benefit payment; and
            (v) the accuracy of benefit payment 
 amounts.

    (5) Additional uses.--Additional activities, including--
        (A) hiring and compensating staff;
        (B) formulating guidance, recommendations, and best 
 practices for States;
            (C) providing training on program administration;
            (D) providing technical assistance to States; and
        (E) creating or leveraging technology essential for 
 the success and effectiveness of the I-PLAN.
            (c) Duration of Award.--

    (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph

    (2) , the period 
 during which payments are made to an entity from an award of a 
 grant under subsection

    (a) shall be 5 years.

    (2) Compliance.--The Secretary shall annually evaluate 
 whether the national intermediary is complying with the 
 requirements of this Act and, if the Secretary determines that 
 the national intermediary is not so complying, shall withhold 
 any payment or part of the payment to the national intermediary 
 under this section for the following fiscal year unless and 
 until the Secretary determines the national intermediary has 
 remedied such compliance issue.
            (d) National Intermediary Oversight.--The Secretary shall--

    (1) monitor the national intermediary to ensure compliance 
 with the requirements of this Act;

    (2) provide technical assistance to assist the national 
 intermediary with such compliance; and

    (3) require regular reports on the performance of the 
 national intermediary, including on the roadmap under 

section 3

    (a)

    (5) , the use of funds under 

section 4

    (b) , and other methods 
 of evaluation.

SEC. 5. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES.

    (a) Conforming Grants.--

    (1) In general.--
        (A) Authority to make grants.--Subject to the 
 availability of appropriations under 

section 6

    (b) , the 
 Secretary, acting through the Employment and Training 
 Administration, shall, on an annual basis, make a 
 conforming grant to each eligible State.
        (B) Amount of grant.--
            (i) In general.--A grant to an eligible 
 State under this subsection shall be--
            (I) not less than $1,500,000 and 
 not more than $8,000,000; and
            (II) subject to subclause
            (I) , 
 awarded on the basis of the relative 
 annual level of employment (as 
 published by the Current Employment 
 Statistics program of the BLS) of the 
 eligible State, compared to the annual 
 level of employment in all eligible 
 States.
            (ii) Adjustment.--The amounts specified in 
 clause
            (i) shall be ratably increased or 
 decreased to the extent that funds available 
 under 

section 6

    (b) exceed or are less than

    (respectively) the amount required to provide 
 the amounts specified in clause
            (i) .

    (2) Eligible states.--
        (A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
 under paragraph

    (1) , a State shall--
            (i) have a State focal; and
            (ii) participate in the I-PLAN in good 
 faith.
        (B) Good faith requirement.--
            (i) Withholding.--If the Secretary, in 
 consultation with the national intermediary 
 awarded the grant under 

section 4

    (a) , 
 determines that a State is not participating in 
 the I-PLAN in good faith, the Secretary--
            (I) shall provide warning and 
 feedback to States in a prompt manner; 
 and
            (II) if, six months after the date 
 on which the Secretary provides such 
 warning and feedback, the Secretary 
 determines such State continues not to 
 participate in the I-PLAN in good 
 faith, the Secretary may elect to 
 withhold a portion or the total amount 
 of a grant under paragraph

    (1) to such 
 State.
            (ii) Restoration.--If the Secretary elects 
 to withhold an amount from a State under clause
            (i) 
            (II) , the Secretary may later elect to 
 provide the amount so withheld to such State if 
 the Secretary later determines that such State 
 is participating in good faith.

    (b) Implementation Grants.--

    (1) In general.--
        (A) Authority to make grants.--Subject to the 
 availability of appropriations under 

section 6
            (c) , the 
 Secretary, acting through the Employment and Training 
 Administration, shall, on an annual basis, make an 
 implementation grant to each eligible State.
        (B) Amount of grant.--
            (i) In general.--A grant to an eligible 
 State under this subsection shall be--
            (I) not less than $1,500,000 and 
 not more than $8,000,000; and
            (II) subject to subclause
            (I) , 
 awarded on the basis of the relative 
 annual level of employment (as 
 published by Current Employment 
 Statistics program of the BLS) of the 
 eligible State, compared to the annual 
 level of employment in all eligible 
 States.
            (ii) Adjustment.--The amounts specified in 
 clause
            (i) shall be ratably increased or 
 decreased to the extent that funds available 
 under 

section 6
            (c) exceed or are less than

    (respectively) the amount required to provide 
 the amounts specified in clause
            (i) .

    (2) Eligibility.--
        (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph
        (B) , to be 
 eligible to receive a grant under paragraph

    (1) , a 
 State shall--
            (i) meet the requirements of subsection

    (a)

    (2)
        (A) ; and
            (ii) have entered into the I-PLAN 
 Agreement.
        (B) Limitation.--A State described in subparagraph
        (A) shall be ineligible to receive a grant for any 
 fiscal year beginning after the date that is 4 years 
 after the date on which such State enters into the I-
 PLAN Agreement in which such State does not meet the 
 requirements of such Agreement.
            (c) Use of Funds.--A State may use grants received under this 
section--

    (1) to help pay administrative costs, including costs 
 related to--
        (A) customer service;
        (B) staffing and training;
            (C) technology;
            (D) data sharing;
        (E) identity validation; and
        (F) program awareness; and

    (2) to help small businesses, as defined by the State, 
 afford employer payroll contributions or access other forms of 
 technical and operational assistance related to State paid 
 family and medical leave.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) National Intermediary Grant.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated not more than $10,000,000 for the purposes of 

section 4 
for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2028.

    (b) Conforming Grants.--There are authorized to be appropriated not 
more than $40,000,000 for the purposes of 

section 5

    (a) for each of 
fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
            (c) Implementation Grants.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
not more than $40,000,000 for the purposes of 

section 5

    (b) for each of 
fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
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