Protecting Military Parental Leave Evaluations Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Protecting Military Parental Leave Evaluations Act responds to the 2022 expansion of paid parental leave for Armed Forces members to 12 weeks after birth, adoption, or placement. Congress finds that members who use parental leave may receive lower evaluations because their performance is not observed, that service evaluation codes are inconsistent, and that waiver paperwork for using the 12 weeks beyond one year reduces flexibility. Within 180 days, the Secretary of Defense must prescribe regulations exempting a service member from a performance evaluation when parental leave under title 10 section 701(h)(1)(A) exceeds 31 consecutive days. DOD must also authorize members to use parental leave during the two-year period beginning with birth, adoption, or placement without needing a waiver from the Secretary concerned. The Secretary must report implementation to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
Who Benefits and How
Service members who become parents benefit because taking more than 31 consecutive days of parental leave would not produce an observed-performance evaluation gap that hurts career records. Mothers, fathers, adoptive parents, and long-term foster placements benefit from two years of flexibility to use leave without a waiver. Military families benefit from reduced paperwork and less career pressure around caregiving. Commanders benefit from clearer DOD-wide rules for rating periods affected by parental leave.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Secretary of Defense must issue regulations within 180 days and report implementation to Congress. Military department personnel offices must update evaluation systems, non-rated codes, leave policies, and guidance. Commanders and supervisors must apply the parental-leave evaluation exemption consistently. Service members using the leave must coordinate schedules across unit needs and the two-year window. Armed Services Committee staff must review the implementation report.
Key Provisions
- Requires DOD regulations within 180 days for parental-leave evaluation treatment.
- Exempts Armed Forces members from performance evaluation when parental leave exceeds 31 consecutive days.
- Authorizes parental leave use during a two-year period after birth, adoption, or placement without a waiver.
- Requires an implementation report to House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires DOD regulations within 180 days to exempt Armed Forces members taking more than 31 consecutive days of parental leave from performance evaluations and to allow parental leave use over two years without a waiver.
Key Policy Areas
Defense, Labor, Families
Primary Purpose
Requires DOD regulations within 180 days to exempt Armed Forces members taking more than 31 consecutive days of parental leave from performance evaluations and to allow parental leave use over two years without a waiver.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Service members who become parents
- Military mothers
- Military fathers
- Adoptive military parents
- Military families
- Commanders
Identified Costs
- Secretary of Defense
- Military department personnel offices
- Commanders
- Supervisors
- Armed Services Committee staff
- Service members scheduling leave
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMrs. Bice (for herself and Ms. Houlahan) introduced the following …
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Commanders, Military personnel offices, Service members who become parents
Positive-direction: Service members who become parents
Negative-direction: Commanders, Military personnel offices
Armed Services Committee staff, Secretary of Defense
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "workers"
- → ['Service members', 'Commanders', 'Supervisors']
- "agencies"
- → ['Department of Defense']
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology