SENATE FILE 324

BY  SODDERS

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for family disability leave benefits, establishing a task force, and providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  96A.1  Title.
   This chapter shall be known as the “Iowa Family Disability Leave Benefits Law”.
   Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  96A.2  Definitions.
   As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
   1.  “Appeal board” means the employment appeal board created under section 10A.601.
   2.  “Base period” means the period beginning with the first day of the five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of a covered individual’s benefit year and ending with the last day of the next to the last completed calendar quarter immediately preceding the date on which the covered individual filed a valid claim.
   3.  “Benefit year” means a period of one year beginning with the day with respect to which a covered individual filed a valid claim for benefits.
   4.  “Benefits” means the money payments payable to a covered individual, as provided in this chapter, with respect to the individual’s family disability leave.
   5.  “Calendar quarter” means the period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31.
   6.  “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or legal ward who is less than eighteen years of age or is eighteen years of age or older but incapable of self-care because of mental or physical impairment.
   7.  “Contributions” means the money payments to the family disability leave benefits fund required by this chapter.
   8.  “Covered employer” means an employer as defined in section 96.19, subsection 16.
   9.  “Covered individual” means an individual who is in employment with a covered employer and who has been employed for at least twelve months by the covered employer and for at least one thousand two hundred fifty hours of service with the covered employer during the previous twelve-month period.
   10.  “Department” means the department of workforce development created in section 84A.1.
   11.  “Director” means the director of the department of workforce development created in section 84A.1.
   12.  “Employment” means as defined in section 96.19, subsection 18.
   13.  “Family disability leave” means unpaid leave taken by a covered individual from employment to provide care for a family member made necessary by the following:
   a.  The birth of a child of the individual.
   b.  The placement of a child with the individual in connection with the adoption of the child by the individual.
   c.  A serious health condition of a family member of the individual.
   d.  Attending a parent-teacher conference for a child.
   e.  Accompanying a family member for routine medical or dental care.
   14.  “Family member” means a child, parent, or spouse of a covered individual.
   15.  “Fund” means the family disability leave benefits fund established by this chapter, to which all contributions required and from which all benefits provided under this chapter shall be paid.
   16.  “Parent” means a biological parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent of a covered individual or a person who was a legal guardian of the covered individual when the covered individual was a child.
   17.  “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, or physical or mental condition which requires inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or continuing medical treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.
   18.  “Statewide average weekly wage” means the amount computed by the department as provided in chapter 96 concerning unemployment compensation.
   19.  “Wages” means as defined in section 96.19, subsection 41.
   20.  “Week” means such period or periods of seven consecutive calendar days ending at midnight, or as the department may by rule prescribe.
   21.  “Weekly benefit amount” means the amount of benefits a covered individual would be entitled to receive for one week of family disability leave. An individual’s weekly benefit amount, as determined for the first week of the individual’s benefit year, shall constitute the individual’s weekly benefit amount throughout such benefit year.
   Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  96A.3  Duties, powers, rules —— privilege.
   1.  Duties and powers of director.  The director shall administer this chapter and shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A, employ such persons, make such expenditures, require such reports, make such investigations, and take such other action as the director deems necessary or suitable to that end. Not later than the fifteenth day of December of each year, the director shall submit to the governor a report covering the administration and operation of this chapter during the preceding fiscal year and shall make such recommendations for amendments to this chapter as the director deems proper. Such report shall include a balance sheet of the moneys in the fund.
   2.  General and special rules.  Each covered employer shall post and maintain printed statements of all rules of the department in places readily accessible to individuals in the employer’s service, and shall make available to each such individual at the time the individual is absent from work due to a family disability leave potentially compensable under this chapter a printed statement of such rules relating to the filing of claims for benefits. Such printed statements shall be supplied by the department to each employer without cost to the employer.
   3.  Publications.  The director shall cause to be printed for distribution to the public the text of this chapter, the department’s general rules, its annual reports to the governor, and any other material the director deems relevant and suitable and shall furnish the same to any person upon application therefor.
   4.  Records, reports, and confidentiality.  
   a.  An employing unit shall keep true and accurate work records containing information required by the department. The records shall be open to inspection and copying by an authorized representative of the department at any reasonable time and as often as necessary. An authorized representative of the department may require from an employing unit a sworn or unsworn report, with respect to individuals employed by the employing unit, which the department deems necessary for the effective administration of this chapter.
   b.
  (1)  The department shall hold confidential the information obtained from an employer or individual in the course of administering this chapter and the initial determination made by a representative of the department under section 96A.8, subsection 2, as to the benefit rights of an individual. The department shall not disclose or open this information for public inspection in a manner that reveals the identity of the employer or the individual, except as provided in subparagraph (3) or paragraph “c”.
   (2)  A report or statement, whether written or verbal, made by a person to a representative of the department or to another person administering this chapter is a privileged communication. A person is not liable for slander or libel on account of the report or statement unless the report or statement is made with malice.
   (3)  Information obtained from an employer or individual in the course of administering this chapter and an initial determination made by a representative of the department under section 96A.8, subsection 2, as to benefit rights of an individual shall not be used in any action or proceeding, except in a contested case proceeding or judicial review under chapter 17A. However, the department shall make information, which is obtained from an employer or individual in the course of administering this chapter and which relates to the employment and wage history of the individual, available to a county attorney for the county attorney’s use in the performance of duties under section 331.756, subsection 5. The information may be used by the interested parties in a proceeding under this chapter to the extent necessary for the proper presentation or defense of a claim.
   c.  Subject to conditions as the department by rule prescribes, information obtained from an employer or individual in the course of administering this chapter and an initial determination made by a representative of the department under section 96A.8, subsection 2, as to benefit rights of an individual may be made available for purposes consistent with the purposes of this chapter to any of the following:
   (1)  The internal revenue service of the United States department of the treasury.
   (2)  The department of revenue.
   (3)  Colleges, universities, and public agencies of this state for use in connection with research of a public nature, provided the department does not reveal the identity of an employer or individual.
   (4)  An employee of the department, a member of the general assembly, or a member of the Congress of the United States in connection with the employee’s or member’s official duties.
   d.  Upon request of an agency of this or another state or of the federal government which administers or operates a program of public assistance or child support enforcement under either the law of this or another state or federal law, or which is charged with a duty or responsibility under the program, and if the agency is required by law to impose safeguards for the confidentiality of information at least as effective as required under this subsection, the department shall provide to the requesting agency, with respect to any named individual without regard to paragraph “g”, any of the following information:
   (1)  Whether the individual is receiving or has received benefits, or has made an application for benefits under this chapter.
   (2)  The period, if any, for which benefits were payable and the weekly benefit amount.
   (3)  The individual’s most recent address.
   e.  The department may require an agency which is provided information under this subsection to reimburse the department for the costs of furnishing the information.
   f.  An employee of the department, an administrative law judge, or a member of the appeal board who violates this subsection is guilty, upon conviction, of a serious misdemeanor.
   g.  Information subject to the confidentiality of this subsection shall not be directly released to any authorized agency unless an attempt is made to provide written notification to the individual involved. Information released in accordance with criminal investigations by a law enforcement agency of this state, another state, or the federal government is exempt from this requirement.
   h.  The department and its employees shall not be liable for any acts or omissions resulting from the release of information to any person pursuant to this subsection.
   5.  Oaths and witnesses.  In the discharge of the duties imposed by this chapter, the chairperson of the appeal board and any duly authorized representative of the department shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations, take depositions, certify to official acts, and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records deemed necessary as evidence in connection with a disputed claim or the administration of this chapter.
   6.  Subpoenas.  In case of contumacy by, or refusal to obey a subpoena issued to any person, any court of this state within the jurisdiction of which the inquiry is carried on or within the jurisdiction of which the person guilty of contumacy or refusal to obey is found or resides or transacts business, upon application by the department, or any member or duly authorized representative thereof, shall have jurisdiction to issue to such person an order requiring such person to appear before the department or any member or duly authorized representative thereof to produce evidence if so ordered or to give testimony touching the matter under investigation or in question; any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by the court as a contempt thereof.
   7.  Protection against self-incrimination.  A person shall not be excused from attending and testifying or from producing books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records before the department, or the appeal board, or in obedience to a subpoena in any cause or proceeding provided for in this chapter, on the ground that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of the person may tend to incriminate the person or subject the person to a penalty for forfeiture; but a person shall not be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty of forfeiture for or on account of any transaction, matter, or thing concerning which the person is compelled, after having claimed privilege against self- incrimination, to testify or produce evidence, documentary or otherwise, except that such person so testifying shall not be exempt from prosecution and punishment for perjury committed in so testifying.
   8.  Destruction of records.  The department may destroy or dispose of such original reports or records as have been properly recorded or summarized in the permanent records of the department and are deemed by the director to be no longer necessary to the proper administration of this chapter. Wage records of the individual or transcripts therefrom may be destroyed or disposed of two years after the expiration of the period covered by such wage records or upon proof of the death of the individual. Such destruction or disposition shall be made only by order of the director.
   9.  Purging uncollectible overpayments.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the department shall review all outstanding overpayments of benefit payments annually. The department may determine as uncollectible and purge from its records any remaining unpaid balances of outstanding overpayments which are ten years or older from the date of the overpayment decision.
   10.  Reimbursement of setoff costs.  The department shall include in the amount set off in accordance with section 421.17, subsection 27, for the collection of an overpayment created pursuant to this chapter, an additional amount for the reimbursement of setoff costs incurred by the department of revenue.
   Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  96A.4  Private plans.
   1.  Any covered employer may establish a private plan for the purpose of providing family disability leave benefits in lieu of benefits as provided by this chapter. The private plan shall provide benefits to the same or greater extent than that which is provided under this chapter.
   2.  The department shall establish requirements for determining whether a private plan meets the requirements of this section and shall certify whether a covered employer has established an eligible private plan.
   3.  Covered individuals of a covered employer that has established an eligible private plan shall not be entitled to benefits as provided by this chapter. In addition, covered individuals and the covered employer of an eligible private plan shall not be required to make contributions to the family disability leave benefits fund.
   Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  96A.5  Nonduplication of benefits.
   Benefits shall not be required to be paid or paid under this chapter for any period of family disability leave with respect to which benefits are paid or payable under any unemployment compensation or similar law, or under any disability or cash sickness benefit or similar law, of this state or of any other state or of the federal government. Benefits shall not be required to be paid or paid under this chapter for any period of family disability leave with respect to which benefits are paid or payable on account of a disability of the covered individual under any worker’s compensation law, occupational disease law, or similar legislation of this state or of any other state or the federal government.
   Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  96A.6  Coverage.
   All covered individuals shall be entitled on and after January 1, 2012, to family disability leave benefits provided by this chapter pursuant to family disability leave.
   Sec. 7.  NEW SECTION.  96A.7  Family disability leave benefits —— determination —— duration.
   1.  Determination of benefits.
  a.  A covered individual who is absent from work during an entire week pursuant to family disability leave shall be paid with respect to such weekly benefits in an amount which shall be equal to the individual’s weekly benefit amount. A covered individual who is absent from work pursuant to family disability leave for a portion of any week and who meets the conditions of eligibility for benefits shall be paid with respect to that week an amount equal to the individual’s weekly benefit amount less that part of wages payable to the individual with respect to that week in excess of one-fourth of the individual’s weekly benefit amount. The benefits shall be rounded to the lower multiple of one dollar.
   b.  For purposes of this section, a covered individual’s weekly benefit amount shall be an amount equal to the amount as determined pursuant to section 96.3, subsection 4.
   2.  Eligibility for benefits.  The department shall adopt rules governing the ability of a covered employer to establish reasonable guidelines governing a covered individual’s request for, and continued eligibility for, family disability leave. The rules shall provide that any guidelines established by an employer shall not require a covered individual to use paid leave prior to becoming eligible for benefits under this chapter.
   3.  Duration of benefits.  The maximum total amount of family disability leave for which a covered individual is eligible for benefits pursuant to this chapter during a benefit year shall not exceed twenty-six weeks. Of the maximum family disability leave permitted pursuant to this section, no more than twenty-four hours shall be family disability leave as described in section 96A.2, subsection 13, paragraphs“d” and “e”.
   Sec. 8.  NEW SECTION.  96A.8  Filing —— determination —— appeal.
   1.  Filing.  Claims for benefits shall be made in accordance with such rules as the department may prescribe.
   2.  Initial determination.  A representative designated by the director shall promptly notify all interested parties to the claim of its filing, and the parties shall have ten days from the date of mailing the notice of the filing of the claim by ordinary mail to the last known address to protest payment of benefits to the claimant. The representative shall promptly examine the claim and any protest, take the initiative to ascertain relevant information concerning the claim, and, on the basis of the facts found by the representative, shall determine whether or not the claim is valid, the week with respect to which benefits shall commence, the weekly benefit amount payable and its maximum duration, and whether any disqualification shall be imposed. The claimant has the burden of proving that the claimant meets the basic eligibility conditions of this chapter. Unless the claimant or other interested party, after notification or within ten calendar days after notification was mailed to the claimant’s last known address, files an appeal from the decision, the decision is final and benefits shall be paid or denied in accordance with the decision. If an administrative law judge affirms a decision of the representative, or the appeal board affirms a decision of the administrative law judge allowing benefits, the benefits shall be paid regardless of any appeal which is thereafter taken.
   3.  Appeals.  Unless the appeal is withdrawn, an administrative law judge, after affording the parties reasonable opportunity for fair hearing, shall affirm or modify the findings of fact and decision of the representative. The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 17A relating to hearings for contested cases. Before the hearing is scheduled, the parties shall be afforded the opportunity to choose either a telephone hearing or an in-person hearing. A request for an in-person hearing shall be approved unless the in-person hearing would be impractical because of the distance between the parties to the hearing. A telephone or in-person hearing shall not be scheduled before the seventh calendar day after the parties receive notice of the hearing. Reasonable requests for the postponement of a hearing shall be granted. The parties shall be duly notified of the administrative law judge’s decision, together with the administrative law judge’s reasons for the decision, which is the final decision of the department, unless within fifteen days after the date of notification or mailing of the decision, further appeal is initiated pursuant to this section. Appeals from the initial determination shall be heard by an administrative law judge employed by the department. An administrative law judge’s decision may be appealed by any party to the appeal board. The decision of the appeal board is final agency action and an appeal of the decision shall be made directly to the district court.
   4.  Effect of determination.  A finding of fact or law, judgment, conclusion, or final order made pursuant to this section by an employee or representative of the department, administrative law judge, or the appeal board, is binding only upon the parties to proceedings brought under this chapter, and is not binding upon any other proceedings or action involving the same facts brought by the same or related parties before the division of labor services, division of workers’ compensation, other state agency, arbitrator, court, or judge of this state or the United States.
   Sec. 9.  NEW SECTION.  96A.9  Recovery of overpayment of benefits.
   If a covered individual receives benefits for which the individual is subsequently determined to be ineligible, even though the individual acts in good faith and is not otherwise at fault, the benefits shall be recovered. The department in its discretion may recover the overpayment of benefits either by having a sum equal to the overpayment deducted from any future benefits payable to the individual or by having the individual pay to the department a sum equal to the overpayment.
   Sec. 10.  NEW SECTION.  96A.10  Waiver —— fees —— assignments —— penalties.
   1.  Waiver of rights void.  Any agreement by a covered individual to waive, release, or commute the individual’s rights to benefits or any other rights under this chapter shall be void. Any agreement by any individual in the employ of any person or concern to pay all or any portion of a covered employer’s contributions, required under this chapter from such employer, shall be void. A covered employer shall not directly or indirectly make or require or accept any deduction from wages to finance the employer’s contributions required from the employer, or require or accept any waiver of any right hereunder by any individual in the employer’s employ. Any covered employer or officer or agent of an employer who violates any provision of this subsection shall, for each offense, be guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
   2.  Prohibition against fees.  A covered individual claiming benefits under this chapter shall not be charged fees of any kind in any proceeding under this chapter by the department or its representatives or by a court or an officer of the court. An individual claiming benefits in a proceeding before the department, an appeal tribunal, or a court may be represented by counsel or other duly authorized agent. A person who violates a provision of this subsection is guilty of a serious misdemeanor for each violation.
   3.  No assignment of benefits —— exemptions.
  a.  Any assignment, pledge, or encumbrance of any right to benefits which are or may become due or payable under this chapter shall be void, and such rights to benefits shall be exempt from levy, execution, attachment, or any other remedy whatsoever provided for the collection of debt; and benefits received by any individual, so long as they are not mingled with other funds of the recipient, shall be exempt from any remedy whatsoever for the collection of all debts. Any waiver of any exemption provided for in this subsection shall be void.
   b.  However, benefits under this chapter are not exempt from income withholding, garnishment, attachment, or execution if withheld for or garnisheed by the child support recovery unit, established in section 252B.2, or if an income withholding order or notice of the income withholding order under section 598.22 or 598.23 is being enforced by the child support recovery unit to satisfy the child support obligation of a covered individual who is eligible for benefits under this chapter.
   Sec. 11.  NEW SECTION.  96A.11  Family disability leave benefits fund.
   1.  Establishment and control.  A family disability leave benefits fund is hereby established as a special fund, separate and apart from all public moneys or funds of this state. The department shall administer the fund exclusively for the purposes of this chapter. The fund shall consist of all of the following:
   a.  All contributions collected under this chapter, including any interest and penalties collected on delinquent contributions.
   b.  Interest earned upon any moneys in the fund.
   c.  Any property or securities acquired through the use of moneys belonging to the fund.
   d.  All earnings of such property or securities.
   e.  Any other moneys specifically directed or appropriated to the fund.
   2.  Accounts and deposits.  The treasurer of state shall be the custodian of the fund and shall administer the fund in accordance with the directions of the department.
   3.  Exclusive use.  Moneys in the fund shall be held in trust for the exclusive payment of family disability leave benefits pursuant to this chapter.
   Sec. 12.  NEW SECTION.  96A.12  Contributions.
   1.  Covered employers who have not established an eligible private plan pursuant to section 96A.4 and all employees of a covered employer shall pay into the fund contributions as provided by this section.
   2.
  a.  For each calendar year, the department shall by November 1 of the previous calendar year, establish a total contribution rate for the upcoming calendar year based upon the anticipated wages of employees of covered employers for the upcoming calendar year which shall be sufficient to pay anticipated benefits pursuant to this chapter for that calendar year.
   b.  Of the total contribution rate established by the department, covered employers shall pay contributions based on two-thirds of the total contribution rate established and employees of covered employers shall pay contributions based on one-third of the total contribution rate established by the department. Covered employers shall ensure that the employee contribution shall be deducted from the employee’s wages.
   Sec. 13.  NEW SECTION.  96A.13  Priority —— refunds.
   1.  Interest.  An employer who fails to pay any contribution at the time required by this chapter and the rules of the department shall pay to the department in addition to such contribution, interest thereon at the rate of one percent per month and one-thirtieth of one percent for each day or fraction thereof computed from the date upon which the contribution should have been paid.
   2.  Fraud —— penalty.  If the department finds that an employer has willfully failed to pay any contribution or part thereof when required by this chapter and the rules of the department, with intent to defraud the department, the employer shall in addition to such contribution or part thereof, pay a contribution equal to fifty percent of the amount of such contribution or part thereof, as the case may be.
   3.  Cancellation upon proof.  The department may cancel any interest or penalties if it is shown to the satisfaction of the department that the failure to pay a required contribution or to file a required report was not the result of negligence, fraud, or intentional disregard of the law or the rules of the department.
   4.  Lien of contributions —— collection.  Whenever any covered employer liable to pay contributions refuses or neglects to pay the contributions, the amount, including any interest, together with the costs that may accrue in addition thereto, shall be a lien in favor of the state upon all property and rights to property, whether real or personal, belonging to the employer.
   Sec. 14.  NEW SECTION.  96A.14  Offenses.
   1.  Penalties.  An individual who makes a false statement or representation knowing it to be false or knowingly fails to disclose a material fact, to obtain or increase any benefit or other payment under this chapter, either for the individual or for any other individual, is guilty of a fraudulent practice as defined in sections 714.8 through 714.14. The total amount of benefits or payments involved in the completion of or in the attempt to complete a fraudulent practice shall be used in determining the value involved under section 714.14.
   2.  False statement.  Any covered employer or any officer or agent of a covered employer or any other person who makes a false statement or representation knowing it to be false, or who knowingly fails to disclose a material fact, to prevent or reduce the payment of benefits to any individual entitled thereto, or to avoid becoming or remaining subject hereto, or to avoid or reduce any contribution or other payment required from a covered employer under this chapter, or who willfully fails or refuses to make any such contributions or other payment or to furnish any reports required hereunder or to produce or permit the inspection or copying of records as required hereunder, is guilty of a fraudulent practice as defined in sections 714.8 through 714.14. The total amount of benefits, contributions, or payments involved in the completion of or in the attempt to complete a fraudulent practice shall be used in determining the value involved under section 714.14.
   3.  Unlawful acts.  Any person who willfully violates any provision of this chapter or any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, the violation of which is made unlawful or the observance of which is required under the terms of this chapter, and for which a penalty is neither prescribed herein nor provided by any other applicable statute, shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor, and each day such violation continues shall be deemed to be a separate offense.
   4.  Misrepresentation.  An individual who, by reason of the nondisclosure or misrepresentation by the individual or by another of a material fact, has received any sum as benefits under this chapter while any conditions for the receipt of benefits imposed by this chapter were not fulfilled in the individual’s case, or while the individual was disqualified from receiving benefits, shall, in the discretion of the department, either be liable to have the sum deducted from any future benefits payable to the individual under this chapter or shall be liable to repay to the department for the fund, a sum equal to the amount so received by the individual. If the department seeks to recover the amount of the benefits by having the individual pay to the department a sum equal to that amount, the department may file a lien with the county recorder in favor of the state on the individual’s property and rights to property, whether real or personal.
   Sec. 15.  TASK FORCE ON WORK AND THE FAMILY.
   1.  A task force on work and the family is established under the sponsorship of the department of workforce development. The task force shall consist of the following members: the director of the department of workforce development and fourteen public members, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, including four representatives of women’s organizations; four representatives of labor organizations; four representatives of business organizations; and two individuals with expertise on the impact of work on family life. Not more than seven of the public members shall be of the same political party. Each member shall serve on the task force for a term lasting until the task force is dissolved. Any member may be removed from office by the governor, for cause, after a hearing and may be suspended by the governor pending the completion of the hearing. All vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Members shall serve without compensation. The task force shall organize itself within fifteen days after the appointment of its members. In organizing itself, the task force shall elect a chairperson and vice chairperson from among its members. Each member shall be entitled to one vote on all matters which may come before the task force. No determination, decision, or action of the task force shall be made or taken unless a majority of the members votes in favor of the action.
   2.  The task force shall issue a report not later than June 1, 2015, which evaluates and describes the impact of the provisions of chapter 96A, including the costs and benefits resulting from the provisions of the chapter for the following:
   a.  Employees and their families.
   b.  Employers, including benefits such as reduced training and other costs related to reduced turnover of personnel, and increased affordability of family disability leave benefits through the provisions of chapter 96A, with special attention given to small businesses.
   c.  The public, including savings caused by any reduction in the number of people receiving public assistance.
   The task force shall evaluate the impact of the provisions of chapter 96A on welfare costs and on the stability of employment of participants. The report shall include recommendations regarding whether to continue or modify the provisions of chapter 96A after December 31, 2016, and any draft legislation needed to implement the recommendations. The task force shall dissolve immediately after issuing the report. The task force may hold public hearings and shall have access to all files and records of the department of revenue and finance, the department of workforce development, and other relevant state agencies and may call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of those departments and agencies to provide whatever information the task force deems necessary in the performance of its functions.
   3.  The total amount of expenses which the task force determines is necessary to carry out its duties pursuant to this section, if any, shall be provided through an appropriation to the department of workforce development, except that the amount shall in no case exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars during any fiscal year. The task force shall make that determination in consultation with the director of the department of workforce development and shall report that determination to the director not later than the sixtieth day following its organization.
EXPLANATION
   This bill establishes a family disability leave benefits law which provides benefits to individuals who take unpaid time from work to provide care for a family member’s disability or for certain other absences from work. The law is administered by the department of workforce development. The bill defines family disability leave as unpaid leave for the birth of a child of the individual, the placement of a child with the individual in connection with the adoption of the child by the individual, a serious health condition of a family member of the individual, attending a parent-teacher conference for a child, and accompanying a family member for routine medical and dental care. Benefits are calculated in the same manner as unemployment compensation benefits are calculated. The bill establishes a mechanism for employers to opt out of coverage under the law if the employer has established a private plan to provide family disability leave benefits.
   The bill establishes a family disability leave benefits fund for the payment of benefits and establishes the mechanism for establishing the rate for both employers and employees to make contributions into the fund. The department of workforce development administers the fund and also provides for the payment and determination of benefits payable from the fund.
   The bill provides for the recovery of benefit overpayments and establishes penalties for violations of various provisions of the law. The bill provides that the rights granted by the bill cannot be waived.
   The bill provides that family disability leave benefits shall be payable beginning January 1, 2012.
   The bill establishes a task force concerning work and family in the department of workforce development to examine the impact of the bill and requires the task force to issue a report by June 1, 2015, concerning its findings. The bill specifies the membership of the task force and provides that the costs associated with the task force be payable from an appropriation to the department of workforce development.