The Legislature has passed two bills modifying the state Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program and both are on their way to the Governor’s desk. The first creates an alternative eligibility grant to allow people impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns
to still qualify for benefits. The second expands the “family member” definition and requires data collection on program use. AWC has followed both bills throughout session.
HB 1073 started this year as a broad expansion of eligibility for the PFML program. Much of the debate around the bill focused
on employees that had lost PFML eligibility because of lost hours due to COVID-19 shutdowns. Over the course of the session, the bill was narrowed to provide alternative eligibility metrics to people whose work hours were impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns,
eventually taking the form of a temporary PFML-adjacent program called the Pandemic Leave Assistance Employee (PLAE) Grant. Employees that are not eligible for PFML through hours worked in 2020 and Quarter 1 of 2021 can be eligible for a PLAE grant
if they met PFML leave eligibility in 2019 and Q1 of 2020 and were not separated from employment due to misconduct or a voluntary separation unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant amounts will be equal to the weekly benefits that otherwise would
have been calculated under the PFML program.
PLAE grants will be subsidized with federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, not the PFML account. The final version of the bill was passed out of the House on April 13 on a 56-42 vote. The bill will take effect immediately upon the Governor’s
signature, and the PLAE Grant program will expire on June 30, 2023.
SB 5097 also started the session as a broad PFML eligibility expansion. The final bill expands the program’s definition of
“family member.” Caring for a family member is one of the justifications that employees can use to apply for PFML. The new definition includes any person who regularly resides in the employee’s home or where a relationship with the
employee creates an expectation that they will care for the person and that the person in question depends on the employee’s care. The definition does not include someone living in the same house as the employee but who has no expectation of
care. If the expanded definition results in more than 500 additional PFML claims by July 1, 2023, then the additional claims must be paid out of the general fund and not the PFML account.
The bill also requires the Employment Securities Department (ESD) to consult with the PFML advisory committee to collect and analyze disaggregated program data related to the PFML employment protection provisions. ESD and the advisory committee must report
to the Legislature by December 1, 2021 on:
- Program utilization by employees covered under approved voluntary plans compared to employees covered under the state plan; and
- Program utilization by employees working for employers with 50 or more employees compared to employees working for employers with fewer than 50 employees.
They must also report by June 30, 2022 on:
- The number of individuals who used leave under the PFML program as a result of the new “family member” definition; and
- The effects, if any, on the PFML account as a result of the amended definition of family member in the act.
If SB 5097 is signed into law, it will become effective July 25, 2021.
AWC was initially opposed to the original form of both bills, which included broad expansions of PFML eligibility without considering the long-term viability of the program and impact to premium rates. AWC is now neutral on the final versions of both
HB 1073 and SB 5097, as the expansions became much more focused in scope and the impacts limited.