Moving one step closer to finalizing the paid sick leave rules requiring federal contractors to provide employees with seven (7) days of paid sick leave, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) submitted final rules to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.  The DOL submitted the rules on July 22, 2016, far in advance of the September 30, 2016 deadline.  OMB has up to 90 days to complete its review, although it need not take the entire review period.

 

The final rules implement Executive Order 13706, which was released by the White House in September 2015.  On February 25, 2016, the DOL published the proposed rule in the Federal Register, 81 Fed. Reg. 9592.  It is unknown how much of the proposed rule is part of the final rule that was submitted for OMB review.

 

EO 13706 requires federal contractors to provide employees who work on federal contracts with one (1) hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, and accrual cannot be limited to less than 56 hours.  Unlike traditional discretionary paid sick leave which employers often limit to the employee's own illness, paid sick leave under EO 13706 can be used to care not only for the employee but also for a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or any other "individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship."  Under the proposed rules, an "individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee" is defined as "the equivalent of a family relationship means any person with whom the employee has a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship."  The proposed rule further stated that an employee can establish a family or family-like relation by asserting that one exists.  The proposed rules prohibited employers from demanding intimate details to establish the relationship.

 

The required paid sick leave under EO 13706 can be used for absences related to illness, medical care from a health care provider or for absences resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.