Federal paid leave mandate: 1 hour per 25 worked, enforceable by workers.

What it does

This bill requires employers with 20+ employees to provide at least 1 hour of paid time off (PTO) for every 25 hours worked, capped at 80 hours per year. Employees can use PTO for any reason, must receive notice of their accrued balance, and are entitled to cash out unused leave upon separation. Employers cannot retaliate against employees for taking PTO or filing complaints, and violations are enforceable through private lawsuits and Department of Labor investigation.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward labor standard: employers must accrue and allow use of paid annual leave. It is a worker-protection statute modeled on Fair Labor Standards Act enforcement, not a tax provision, subsidy, or deregulation.

What the text implies

• Carryover cap (40 hours/year) may incentivize employers to encourage leave use before year-end to avoid accumulation, potentially shifting scheduling pressure to employees.
• Tipped employee minimum-wage floor (section 3(b)(3)(B)) may increase labor costs for hospitality/service sectors more than others, creating uneven compliance burden.
• Loaned leave provision (section 3(b)(4)) allows employers to require repayment if employee separates before earning loaned hours, creating potential debt trap for low-wage workers.
• Collective bargaining carve-out (section 6(f)) allows unions to negotiate away statutory minimums via grievance procedures, potentially creating two-tier leave systems.
• State sovereign immunity waiver (section 6(e)) conditions on receipt of federal funds; states may reduce federal program participation to avoid PTO liability.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Employees gain a federally guaranteed paid leave entitlement (minimum 1 hour per 25 worked, up to 80/year), protection from retaliation, and private right of action for violations. Employers face new compliance costs but retain flexibility to manage scheduling within reasonable limits.

Named in the bill

Department of Labor, Secretary of Labor, Government Accountability Office, Library of Congress, Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, Merit Systems Protection Board

Where it stands

86 cosponsors: 86 Democrats.

• Jul 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jul 25, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,711,309 in lobbying spend. A filing names 71 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Seth Magaziner, the sponsor, reported $526,804 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Education Association — $670,000 on 1 filing
• American Federation of Teachers — $410,000 on 1 filing
• International Association of Fire Fighters — $380,304 on 2 filings
• Csx Corporation — $251,005 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.