The FAMILY Act establishes a national paid family and medical leave insurance program administered by the Social Security Administration, providing benefits for caregiving related to serious health conditions or victims of violence.
Rosa DeLauro
Representative
CT-3
The FAMILY Act establishes a national Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program administered by a new office within the Social Security Administration. This program provides monthly benefits to eligible individuals who take time off for qualified caregiving reasons, including serious health conditions or victims of violence. The Act also sets forth detailed eligibility requirements, benefit calculation formulas, and job protection guarantees for employees utilizing the leave. Finally, it creates a funding mechanism to support existing state-level paid leave programs that meet federal standards.
The FAMILY Act: New Federal Paid Leave Program Sets $4,000 Monthly Maximum Starting 2026
The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, or the FAMILY Act, is setting up a major new social insurance program inside the Social Security Administration (SSA). In short, this bill creates a national, federally-backed paid family and medical leave system, managed by a brand-new Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave. The goal is to provide financial stability when workers need time off for serious health or caregiving needs. Applications for benefits are scheduled to open 18 months after the bill becomes law.
Who Gets Paid and How Much?
To qualify for this new benefit, you need to have earned at least $2,000 in wages or self-employment income during a specific look-back period. This minimum earnings threshold will be adjusted annually after 2026. If you meet that threshold, your monthly benefit is calculated using a tiered formula based on your average monthly earnings over the last three years. The formula is generous for lower earners, paying 85% of earnings up to the first cap (set at $1,257 in 2026), and then a lower percentage on earnings above that. The maximum monthly benefit is set at $4,000, and the minimum is $580 for benefits starting in 2026, both of which will also be indexed to inflation. Your final payment is prorated based on the actual caregiving hours you put in that month, meaning you only get paid for the time you actually take off.
What Counts as Qualified Leave?
This program covers a broad range of reasons for taking leave. It includes the standard reasons covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), such as time off for your own serious health condition, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Crucially, the bill also expands coverage to include time off if you or a qualified family member are victims of violence (like domestic violence or sexual assault). This victim-related leave covers things like seeking counseling, relocating for safety, or getting legal assistance. The definition of “qualified family member” is also wide, covering immediate family, grandparents, grandchildren, and anyone else related “by blood or affinity whose relationship is like family.”
Job Security and the Retaliation Shield
One of the most important aspects of this Act is the strong job protection it provides. If you take leave and receive these benefits, your employer must restore you to your old job or an equivalent position with the same pay and benefits when you return. They also have to keep your group health insurance active. The bill makes it illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for using your rights under this program. If an employer takes any negative action against you within 12 months of your leave, the law creates a “rebuttable presumption” that it was retaliation, shifting the burden of proof onto the employer. The catch here: these strong job restoration and health benefit protections do not apply to new hires during their first 90 days on the job, leaving a small gap for those just starting out.
The Administrative Overhaul
Running this system requires a major federal effort. The bill establishes the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave within the SSA, led by a Deputy Commissioner who has the authority to write all the necessary rules and regulations. This new office is tasked with calculating benefits, fighting fraud, and educating the public. They also have to publish annual reports detailing who is using the benefits and for what reasons, broken down by gender, race, ethnicity, and income level, which should provide critical transparency into how the program operates across different communities.
What About States That Already Have Paid Leave?
For “legacy States”—those that already have comprehensive paid family and medical leave laws—the federal government will provide grants starting in 2027 to help cover their costs. To get this money, these states must agree to keep their programs running and share data with the federal government. This means if you live in a state like California or New Jersey, which already has its own system, your state program will likely continue, potentially with federal financial support, as long as it meets the minimum coverage requirements set by the federal Act.