Effective: Aug. 1, 2023
Alabama enacted House Bill 141, which creates the Alabama Paid Family Leave Income Replacement Benefits Act. This Act authorizes insurers providing employee disability policies to expand their fully insured disability benefits offerings to include family leave taken by an employee, through employer-sponsored group insurance policies or voluntarily purchased employee policies. Leave reasons that may be covered by these new policies include the following:
- Participate in providing care, including physical or psychological care, for a family member of the employee made necessary by a serious health condition of the family member;
- Bond with the employee's child during the first 12 months after the child's birth, or the first 12 months after the placement of the child for adoption or foster care with the employee;
- Address a qualifying exigency as interpreted under the Family and Medical Leave Act, arising out of the fact that the spouse, child, or parent of the employee is on active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty, in the Armed Forces of the United States;
- Care for a family service member injured in the line of duty; and
- Take other leave to provide care for a family member or other family leave as specified in the insurance policy.
The insurance policy will indicate the length of family leave benefits available for each covered family leave reason, which must be at least two weeks during a period of 52 consecutive calendar weeks. The Act provides additional details and direction as to the requirements for these new insurance policies.