Congress expands worker right to take leave in smaller chunks
H.R. 7505 — Flexible Leave Act · Filed by Sarah McBride (D-DE) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Feb 11, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow employees to take all qualifying leave on an intermittent (day-by-day or hour-by-hour) or reduced schedule basis, rather than requiring continuous blocks. It also removes employer certification requirements that currently apply to intermittent leave, streamlining the process for workers to use their leave flexibly.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to expand employee choice in how and when to use earned FMLA leave and reduce employer administrative discretion over intermittent leave requests. It is a straightforward labor-standards amendment.
What the text implies
- Removal of certification requirements may increase administrative burden on employers to track and verify intermittent leave usage in real time, potentially driving adoption of leave-management software.
- Expanded intermittent leave availability could increase leave-taking rates overall, affecting workforce continuity planning and temporary staffing demand.
- The bill does not address how employers must handle scheduling conflicts when multiple employees request intermittent leave simultaneously, potentially creating workplace friction.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Employees gain flexibility to use earned leave in smaller increments and face fewer administrative barriers (certification removal), making it easier to balance work and family/medical needs without losing leave entitlements. Employers retain core FMLA obligations but lose some discretionary gatekeeping mechanisms.
Who stands to gain
- leave-management software vendors
- temporary staffing agencies
Named in the bill
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, FMLA, Section 102(b), Section 103(b), employers, employees
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Feb 11, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 11, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on House Administration and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (812 characters) on Aug 15, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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