House and Senate bills that would expand the eligibility of the state Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program have passed the respective labor committees ahead of the March 26 opposite house policy committee cutoff. We last discussed both bills here.

As you know, HB 1073 was modified earlier in session to provide temporary alternative PFML eligibility metrics, allowing people whose work hours were affected by COVID-19 to still qualify for benefits under the PFML program. The bill was heard in the Senate Labor, Commerce, & Tribal Affairs Committee on March 11; it was amended and voted out of the committee on March 17 on a 5-4-1 party line vote.

The amendment adopted in committee retains the alternative eligibility metrics, but specifies that the Legislature intends to use federal funds from the recently approved American Rescue Plan Act to pay for additional PFML claims made under the expanded COVID-related metrics. The amendment also removed provisions related to the small business grant program and inadvertently removed clauses that specify that the act takes effect immediately (emergency clause) and the act is null & void unless funded in the budget. The bill now heads to the Senate Ways & Means Committee where legislators will likely re-instate the null & void and emergency clauses.

AWC is currently neutral on the most recent version of HB 1073.

SB 5097 also saw action late last week. The most recent version of the bill expands the definition of “family member” to include people with an association close enough to result in an expectation of care from the person requesting leave. It also requires the PFML advisory committee and the Employment Security Department to collect data on usage of the program, likely with an eye towards possible program expansion in the future. The bill was heard in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on March 16. It was voted out of committee on March 19 on a 4-3 party line vote.

AWC is currently neutral on the most recent version of SB 5097.