👶🏿👶🏽The chapter is abuzz with news of 12 weeks paid parental leave for federal workers, seemingly destined to pass Congress.

Media reports have little to say about the details of the benefit, so caucus members began gathering questions and answers for ourselves.

📜 Thanks to the quick work of several Union Strong Caucus members, we have the text of the bill (PDF) that will grant 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal workers, if it passes Congress.

🚼 The bill would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), specifically by amending and adding to 5 USC 6382(d).  If passed, the bill will go into effect on October 20, 2020.

❓ We still have several questions that reading the bill text hasn’t answered. In particular, help is needed comparing the text to FMLA to find out:

• What about short term disability, which is a CFPB benefit, for recovery from birth? Is that benefit affected by this?
• You can invoke FLMA at any time within the first 12 months, and come back for some time or part time and then take more until you reach 12 weeks or the first birthday. Can the new paid parental leave be used in pieces like that?
• Is it true that using the new paid parental leave reduces your FMLA in the same year you take the paid leave?
• How would it work if my 12 weeks spanned two years? For example, if I took most of the 12 weeks in late 2019 but then took 2 weeks of it in 2020?

If you have answers, or questions of your own, add them in the comments below.