Senators introduce bipartisan bill to end FMLA limitation for married couples

12/10/2025

Refer to it as a loophole

On December 3, Senators Maggi Hassan and Joni Ernst introduced bipartisan legislation entitled the Fair Access for Individuals to Receive (FAIR) Leave Act (S 3321). If enacted, the bill would eliminate the requirement that married couples who both work for the same employer share the 12 weeks of leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Currently, married couples who work for the same employer have to share the 12 weeks of FMLA leave when the leave is taken to:

  • Bond with a healthy newborn child,
  • Bond with a child placed through adoption or foster care, or
  • Care for a parent with a serious health condition.

Spouses who work for the same employer also share a total of 26 workweeks of FMLA leave to care for a military family member with a serious injury or illness.

If this bill is enacted, eligible spouses working for the same employer would be entitled to each take up to 12 workweeks each of unpaid leave in a 12-month leave year for all applicable FMLA leave reasons. This change would also make it easier for employers to track leave, versus having to calculate when married employees share their leave.

This isn’t the first time a bill of this nature has been introduced, and the senators refer to the sharing provision as a “loophole” in the law. Often, a measure is introduced many times before it gets any traction in Congress.

Although this bill might not pass, it indicates that revising legislation about employee leave is still on the minds of lawmakers.

Key to remember: 

Members of Congress continue to want to make changes to the federal FMLA.

This article was written by Darlene M. Clabault, SHRM-CP, PHR, CLMS, of J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. The content of these news items, in whole or in part, MAY NOT be copied into any other uses without consulting the originator of the content.

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