Use the sample letter below to send a message to your lawmakers urging them to cosponsor the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act, H.R. 856/S. 274. This bipartisan bill would expand paid leave options for the federal workforce, broadening the list of conditions where federal employees are eligible for paid leave, including paid family and medical leave.  

In the United States, under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth, adoption or foster care of a child, the care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition, the inability of an employee to work because of a serious health issue or conditions caused due to an immediate family member’s active-duty service in the military. 

Federal employees are entitled to be paid for FMLA leave that is in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child, but they are only eligible for unpaid leave for the remaining FMLA covered events (the care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition, the inability of an employee to work because of a serious health issue or conditions caused due to an immediate family member’s active-duty service in the military). The Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act, H.R. 856/S. 274, would change that, allowing federal employees to utilize paid leave for any FMLA-covered event.