Congress mandates 12 days paid leave for reproductive health care

What it does

This bill requires employers with 5+ employees to grant each employee 96 hours (12 days) of paid leave annually, usable for reproductive health conditions and procedures—including menstruation, endometriosis, menopause, fertility treatments, and pregnancy termination. Employers with existing paid-leave policies covering the same conditions are exempt. Employees cannot be penalized, discriminated against, or required to find coverage for using this leave. The Department of Labor enforces the rule through investigation, civil suits, and penalties.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward employment mandate: employers must provide paid leave for reproductive health. It is a labor-standards bill, not a healthcare bill, and operates through employment law (Fair Labor Standards Act framework) rather than medical regulation.

What the text implies

• Employers may respond by reducing base wages, cutting other benefits, or raising prices to offset the cost of 96 hours of paid leave per employee per year.
• Small employers (4 or fewer employees) are exempt, creating a potential incentive to stay below the 5-employee threshold or to misclassify workers as independent contractors.
• The bill does not specify how employers should handle requests for leave that exceed 96 hours in a year, or how to handle overlapping leave requests across a workforce.
• State employees gain enforcement rights against states that receive federal funding, potentially creating significant liability for state budgets if reproductive health leave is heavily used.

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

Who it affects

Ordinary workers gain a concrete, enforceable right to paid time off for reproductive health needs without fear of retaliation, discrimination, or job loss. The bill protects a vulnerable category of absences (reproductive health) that disproportionately affect women and people with reproductive systems, reducing financial and employment penalties for accessing necessary care.

Named in the bill

Department of Labor, Secretary of Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, Government Accountability Office, Merit Systems Protection Board, Office of Personnel Management

Where it stands

28 cosponsors: 28 Democrats.

• Mar 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on House Administration · 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.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $0 in lobbying spend. A filing names 1 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 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Yassamin Ansari, the sponsor, reported $234,033 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc. — $0 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.