After imposing new costs on employers through the health care legislation, many will question the wisdom of Congress even considering inflicting additional costs with new leave mandates.  However, pressure will be brought on several fronts for so-called “family-friendly” initiatives in an election year.

• Healthy Families Act  Despite its high public visibility, there was virtually no action last year on the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460/S. 1152), which would require at least 56 hours of paid sick for all employees.  The legislation is at the epicenter of the tension in the Democratic Congress between ensuring an economic recovery and delivering for key interest groups.   
   
• H1N1 Paid Leave Bills  Towards the end of last year, proponents of the Healthy Families Act sought to use the H1N1 scare as an excuse for moving a more targeted paid sick leave bill.  However, legislation to provide paid leave for employees with the H1N1 virus and other communicable diseases is looking less likely because of a reduced virus threat as well as differences between Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) over legislative content.  Late last year, proponents of mandated paid leave called Chairman Miller’s bill (H.R. 3991) "a starting point," but were clearly disappointed by the bill’s application only to situation where the employee’s absence is required by the employer.  To counter the Miller bill, the HFA's sponsors — Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) — introduced a variation on the HFA specifically targeted at contagious illnesses (H.R. 4092/S. 2790).
  
  
• DOL Regulatory Activity and Nominations  Late last year, the Department of Labor announced plans to update the wage and hour recordkeeping requirements to “enhance the transparency and disclosure to workers of how their pay is computed," and to modernize requirements for employees under "telework" and "flexiplace" arrangements.  In its Statement of Regulatory Priorities, the Department also indicated plans to, among other things, revisit the FMLA regulatory changes implemented by the Bush administration and strengthen affirmative action requirements involving individuals with disabilities and veterans.  However, DOL’s agenda hit a stumbling block over a controversial DOL nomination.  Several senators, led by Ranking HELP Committee Republican Mike Enzi (R-WY), requested that President Obama withdraw the nomination of Patricia Smith as Solicitor for misleading the Committee during her confirmation hearing.  Ms. Smith was one of several Obama nominees who failed to be confirmed prior to adjournment, and it remains unclear when action will be taken this year.