Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Businesses be Encouraged to Offer “Workflex” Plans With Paid Leave & Flexible Work Options? (H.R. 4219)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 4219?

(Updated May 21, 2019)

This bill — the Workflex in the 21st Century Act — would establish a voluntary workflex option that'd exempt employers who provide flexible workplace arrangement plans that combine paid leave and flexible work options from certain state and local employee benefit laws. It’d require that such “workflex” plans provide full- and part-time employees with a minimum amount of paid leave ranging between 12-20 days annually depending on the size of the employer and the employee’s tenure. Further, it’d require that paid leave be paired with flexible work options such as telework or flexible scheduling, a complete list of which can be found below.

Workflex plans would have to provide employees with at least one of the following options:

  • A biweekly work program;

  • A compressed work schedule;

  • A telework program;

  • A job sharing program;

  • Flexible scheduling;

  • Predictable scheduling.

Employees wouldn’t be required to adopt a flexible work schedule to receive paid leave. All employees would receive paid leave even if they don’t adopt a flexible work schedule.

Employers who don’t comply with the terms of the bill would have to comply state & local benefits laws, and could face penalties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act for non-compliance.

Argument in favor

This bill is a win-win for workers and businesses — it gives all workers whose employers offer “workflex” plans more guaranteed paid leave than any state law plus flexible work arrangements, without imposing a costly mandate on businesses.

Argument opposed

Businesses shouldn’t get a break from local employment benefits laws for offering “workflex” plans with paid leave & flexible work options. The federal government should mandate that all businesses provide paid leave.

Impact

Employees; employers; businesses; and state and local governments.

Cost of H.R. 4219

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA) introduced this bill to help employees strike a better work-life balance by giving employers the choice of offering “workflex” plans with guaranteed paid leave and flexible working arrangements or complying with state and local benefits laws:

“We’re all leading increasingly busy lives at home and at work. Hard-working Americans deserve to have scheduling options that will help them find a better work-life balance. As our kids grow up and our parents age, being able to adjust work schedules to accommodate personal responsibilities would be a tremendous help. Under this bill, employees could spend more time with their families and in their communities, while working for an employer that understands their needs.”

Original cosponsor Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) added:

“This important legislation would allow businesses to offer flexibility in their employment leave plans to suit the business and the employee. As a millennial, one of the most common workforce demands from my generation is more flexibility in their workplace, and this legislation would amend federal law to allow businesses to voluntarily provide paid leave and workflex options to their employees. This is a win-win for employers and for our workforce.”

The Progressive Policy Institute noted:

“This proposal would not relieve any company of the responsibility to offer paid leave; companies that don’t opt-in would continue to be subject to state mandates. What’s more, this legislation provides greater guaranteed paid leave than is provided under any current state law and more than nearly all local laws, while also incorporating workflex options and important worker protections.”

This legislation has the support of four Republican cosponsors. It has also been endorsed by several interest groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Progressive Policy Institute.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock / B&M Noskowski)