,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ceie ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bh1 #bjag,mr4 ,kelly of ,pennsylvania 7for himself and ,ms4 ,sewell of ,alabama7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to provide a credit to employers who provide paid family and medical leave1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,strong ,families ,act4 #b4 ,employer credit for paid family and medical leave 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,allowance of credit ,subpart ,d of part ,,iv of subchapter ,a of chapter #a of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #de,s4 ,employer credit for paid family and medical leave 7a7 ,establishment of credit 7#a7 ,in general ,for purposes of section #ch1 in the case of an eligible employer1 the paid family and medical leave credit is an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the amount of wages paid to qualifying employees during any period in which such employees are on family and medical leave4 7#b7 ,applicable percentage ,for purposes of paragraph 7#a71 the term applicable percentage means #ab4e percent increased 7but not above #be percent7 by #j4be percentage points for each percentage point by which the rate of payment 7as described under subsection 7c77#a77;,b77 exceeds #ej percent4 7b7 ,limitation 7#a7 ,in general ,the credit allowed under subsection 7a7 with respect to any employee for any taxable year shall not exceed an amount equal to the product of the normal hourly wage rate of such employee for each hour 7or fraction thereof7 of actual services performed for the employer and the number of hours 7or fraction thereof7 for which family and medical leave is taken4 7#b7 ,non-hourly wage rate ,for purposes of paragraph 7#a71 in the case of any employee who is not paid on an hourly wage rate1 the wages of such employee shall be prorated to an hourly wage rate under regulations established by the ,secretary1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,labor4 7#c7 ,maximum amount of leave subject to credit ,the amount of family and medical leave that may be taken into account with respect to any employee under subsection 7a7 for any taxable year shall not exceed #ab weeks4 7c7 ,eligible employer ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,in general ,the term eligible employer means any employer who has in place a policy that meets the following requirements3 7,a7 ,the policy provides-- 7i7 in the case of a qualifying employee who is not a part-time employee 7as defined in section #dihj;,e7d77#d77;,b771 not less than #b weeks of annual paid family and medical leave1 and 7ii7 in the case of a qualifying employee who is a part-time employee1 an amount of annual paid family and medical leave that is not less than an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of annual paid family and medical leave that is provided to a qualifying employee described in clause 7i7 as-- 7,i7 the number of hours the employee is expected to work during any week1 bears to 7,,ii7 the number of hours an equivalent qualifying employee described in clause 7i7 is expected to work during the week4 7,b7 ,the policy requires that the rate of payment under the program is not less than #ej percent of the wages normally paid to such employee for services performed for the employer4 7#b7 ,special rule for certain employers 7,a7 ,in general ,an added employer shall not be treated as an eligible employer unless such employer provides paid family and medical leave in compliance with a policy which ensures that the employer-- 7i7 will not interfere with1 restrain1 or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise1 any right provided under the policy1 and 7ii7 will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any individual for opposing any practice prohibited by the policy4 7,b7 ,added employer2 added employee ,for purposes of this paragraph-- 7i7 ,added employee ,the term added employee means a qualifying employee who is not covered by title ,i of the ,family and ,medical ,leave ,act of #aiic1 as amended4 7ii7 ,added employer ,the term added employer means an eligible employer 7determined without regard to this paragraph71 whether or not covered by that title ,i1 who offers paid family and medical leave to added employees4 7#c7 ,aggregation rule ,all persons which are treated as a single employer under subsections 7a7 and 7b7 of section #eb shall be treated as a single taxpayer4 7#d7 ,treatment of benefits mandated or paid for by ,state or local governments ,for purposes of this section1 any leave which is paid by a ,state or local government or required by ,state or local law shall not be taken into account in determining the amount of paid family and medical leave provided by the employer4 7#e7 ,no inference ,nothing in this subsection shall be construed as subjecting an employer to any penalty1 liability1 or other consequence 7other than ineligibility for the credit allowed by reason of subsection 7a7 or recapturing the benefit of such credit7 for failure to comply with the requirements of this subsection4 7d7 ,qualifying employees ,for purposes of this section1 the term qualifying employee means any employee 7as defined in section #c7;e7 of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich1 as amended7 who-- 7#a7 has been employed by the employer for #a year or more1 and 7#b7 for the preceding year1 had compensation not in excess of an amount equal to #fj percent of the amount applicable for such year under clause 7i7 of section #dad7q77#a77;,b74 7e7 ,family and medical leave 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 for purposes of this section1 the term family and medical leave means leave for any one or more of the purposes described under subparagraph 7,a71 7,b71 7,c71 7,d71 or 7,e7 of paragraph 7#a71 or paragraph 7#c71 of section #ajb7;a7 of the ,family and ,medical ,leave ,act of #aiic1 as amended1 whether the leave is provided under that ,act or by a policy of the employer4 7#b7 ,exclusion ,if an employer provides paid leave as vacation leave1 personal leave1 or medical or sick leave 7other than leave specifically for one or more of the purposes referred to in paragraph 7#a771 that paid leave shall not be considered to be family and medical leave under paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,definitions ,in this subsection1 the terms vacation leave1 personal leave1 and medical or sick leave mean those #c types of leave1 within the meaning of section #ajb7;d77#b7 of that ,act4 7f7 ,wages ,for purposes of this section1 the term wages has the meaning given such term by subsection 7b7 of section #ccjf 7determined without regard to any dollar limitation contained in such section74 ,such term shall not include any amount taken into account for purposes of determining any other credit allowed under this subpart4 7g7 ,election ,to have credit not apply 7#a7 ,in general ,a taxpayer may elect to have this section not apply for any taxable year4 7#b7 ,other rules ,rules similar to the rules of paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c7 of section #ea7;j7 shall apply for purposes of this subsection4 7h7 ,termination ,this section shall not apply to wages paid in any taxable year beginning after the date which is #e years after the date of the enactment of the ,strong ,families ,act4 4 7b7 ,credit part of general business credit ,section #ch7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking plus at the end of paragraph 7#ce71 by striking the period at the end of paragraph 7#cf7 and inserting 1 plus1 and by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#cg7 in the case of an eligible employer 7as defined in section #de,s7c771 the paid family and medical leave credit determined under section #de,s7a74 4 7c7 ,credit allowed against ,,amt ,subparagraph 7,b7 of section #ch7;c77#d7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by redesignating clauses 7vii7 through 7ix7 as clauses 7vii7 through 7x71 respectively1 and by inserting after clause 7vi7 the following new clause3 7vii7 the credit determined under section #de,s1 4 7d7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,denial of double benefit ,section #bhj;,c7a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by inserting #de,s7a71 after #de,p7a714 7#b7 ,election to have credit not apply ,section #feja7m7 of such ,code is amended by inserting #de,s7g71 after #de;,h7g714 7#c7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for subpart ,d of part ,,iv of subchapter ,a of chapter #a of such ,code is amended by adding at the end the following new item3 ,sec4 #de,s4 ,employer credit for paid family and medical leave4 4 7e7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to wages paid in taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #c4 ,,gao study of impact of tax credit to promote access to paid family and medical leave 7a7 ,study ,not later than #d years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states1 in consultation with the ,secretary of the ,treasury and the ,secretary of ,labor1 shall-- 7#a7 complete a study that-- 7,a7 examines the effectiveness of the tax credit for paid family and medical leave authorized under section #de,s of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf 7as added by this ,act7 in terms of-- 7i7 increasing access to paid family and medical leave among qualifying employees2 7ii7 promoting the creation of new paid family and medical leave policies among eligible employers2 7iii7 increasing the generosity of existing paid family and medical leave policies among eligible employers2 and 7iv7 incentivizing employee or employer behavior that might not otherwise have occurred in the absence of the credit2 7,b7 provides recommendations for ways to modify or enhance the tax credit to further promote access to paid family and medical leave for qualifying employees2 7,c7 provides suggestions of alternative policies that ,federal and ,state governments could implement to increase access to paid family and medical leave1 particularly among qualifying employees2 and 7#b7 prepare and submit a report to the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives setting forth the conclusions of the study conducted under paragraph 7#a7 in such a manner that the recommendations included in the report can inform future legislative action4 ,such report shall also be made publicly available via the website of the ,government ,accountability ,office4 7b7 ,prohibition ,in carrying out the requirements of this section1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states may request qualitative and quantitative information from employers and employees claiming the credit under section #de,s of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 but nothing in this section shall be construed as mandating additional reporting requirements for such employers or employees beyond what is already required by law4