# Plain Language Summary: ESP Family Leave Act

This bill makes it easier for school support staff to qualify for unpaid family and medical leave under existing federal law. Right now, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employees to work a certain number of hours per year to be eligible for protected leave when they need time off for serious health issues, childbirth, or family care. The problem is that many school support workers—like bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, teacher's aides, and secretaries—work irregular schedules that vary throughout the school year, making it hard for them to meet the standard hour requirements even though they work full-time for their school.

This bill changes how those hours are calculated for education support professionals. Instead of counting total hours worked, schools would measure whether an employee worked at least 60 percent of the hours that their job description says they should work during the previous school year. So if a bus driver's job is supposed to be 1,000 hours per year, they'd only need to work 600 of those hours to qualify for FMLA protection. This accounts for the reality that school jobs have natural breaks during summers and holidays. The bill also requires schools to keep records on file showing what the expected hours are for each job position.

The change applies to employees at public schools and public colleges or universities. It covers a wide range of support workers including paraeducators, maintenance staff, food service workers, security personnel, health and therapy staff, and many others who keep schools running. The bill essentially recognizes that these workers deserve the same family and medical leave protections as other employees, even though their work schedules don't fit the traditional full-time model that FMLA was originally designed around.

ESP Family Leave Act

ESP Family Leave Act This bill allows education support professionals to meet the hours of service requirements for family and medical leave if they have worked a number of hours equal to not less than 60% of the total monthly hours expected for their job descriptions and duties, as assigned for the previous school year. Education support professionals are employees within a public school or public institution of higher education which may include specified staff, such as paraeducators, administrative support staff, custodians, skilled trade workers, and nursing support staff. The Department of Labor may provide a method for calculating such leave for these professionals.