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H.R. 5222: ESP, Paraprofessional, and Education Support Staff Family Leave Act

This bill, titled the **ESP, Paraprofessional, and Education Support Staff Family Leave Act**, aims to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 to establish specific eligibility requirements and leave entitlements for covered educational employees, namely paraprofessionals and education support staff. Here are the main points of the bill:

Eligibility for Educational Support Professionals

The bill seeks to define the eligibility criteria for paraprofessionals and education support staff under the FMLA. It specifically highlights the following:

  • To meet the hours of service requirement for FMLA eligibility, these employees would need to have worked at least **60% of the total expected monthly hours** for their job description during the previous school year.
  • Employers of these educational employees will be required to maintain records specifying the total monthly hours expected for each employee's job for the school year.

Definitions of Covered Employees

The legislation clarifies what constitutes a "covered educational employee," which includes:

  • Paraprofessional: Defined as per the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
  • Education Support Staff: This includes various support roles such as clerical staff, transportation services, food and nutrition services, custodial and maintenance staff, health and student services, and skilled trades associated with educational institutions.

Entitlement to Leave

The bill also proposes revisions to the provisions regarding the entitlement to leave under the FMLA for these educational employees:

  • The Secretary of Labor will be responsible for establishing methods to calculate the amount of leave available to covered educational employees.
  • This calculation method would be done in accordance with existing regulations under FMLA.

Reporting and Compliance

The bill mandates that educational employers keep detailed records of expected hours for all covered educational employees to ensure compliance with the outlined eligibility criteria. This is intended to facilitate a standardized approach to leave calculation for these employees.

Education Sector Impact

The bill is specifically targeted at the education sector, focusing on increasing access to family and medical leave for essential support staff, thereby potentially improving their job security and work-life balance.

Relevant Companies

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This is an AI-generated summary of the bill text. There may be mistakes.

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Sponsors

65 bill sponsors

Actions

2 actions

Date Action
Sep. 09, 2025 Introduced in House
Sep. 09, 2025 Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Corporate Lobbying

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