By a vote of 278 to 146, the House of Representatives has passed the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008 (H.R. 5781). The Act proposes to extend paid parental leave benefits to federal employees. Specifically, the law would allow federal employees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay available for either the: (1) birth of a child; or (2) placement of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. Moreover, it would provide up to four weeks of paid parental leave, within the current twelve-week unpaid window, in connection with a birth or placement.

Nearly concurrent with the House approval, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) introduced companion legislation in the Senate (S.3140).

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementing H.R. 5781 would cost $60 million in 2009, $190 million in 2010, and a total of $850 million over the 2009-2013 period, subject to the appropriation of the necessary funds.  Accordingly, the Washington Post reports that “the White House [has] threatened to veto the bill, calling it a ‘costly, unnecessary, new paid leave entitlement.’"

Employers must follow developments nonetheless, as the FEPPLA is only one of the many efforts underway on the federal and state levels intended to expand the scope of the Family Medical Leave Act and/or to require paid leave benefits.