HR656-119

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Military Parental Leave Evaluations Act.

2. Improved parental leave for members of the Armed Forces Congress finds the following: In December 2022, Congress expanded the paid parental leave for members of the Armed Forces to 12 weeks during the 12 months after the birth or adoption of a child of the member and in order to care for such child or the placement of a minor child with the member for adoption or long-term foster care (10 U.S.C. 701(h)(1)(A)). The expansion of parental leave raises concerns that members who take such leave may receive lower evaluations compared to those who do not. There is currently no provision to exempt members from evaluations due to parental leave, potentially deterring eligible members from taking this leave. Each Secretary of a military department has been given authority to implement the leave policies but have not provided explicit guidance on how to characterize such leave for the purposes of evaluations. All Armed Forces have non-rated codes or not observed evaluations to exempt members from evaluations during periods where their performance is not observed, but these do not align across the Armed Forces and do not specifically apply to parental leave. Members who are parents face unique hardships, and the 12 weeks of paid family leave for both mothers and fathers, for birth and adoption, is designed to balance the care needs of their children with the demands of their unit. Excessive paperwork required to extend the use of the 12 weeks of military family leave beyond one year additionally burdens members and decreases flexibility. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall— prescribe regulations— that exempt a member of the Armed Forces who is taking parental leave, under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of section 701(h) of title 10, United States Code, that exceeds 31 consecutive days, from a performance evaluation; and under subparagraph (B) of such paragraph, to authorize a member to take leave under such section during the two-year period beginning on the birth, adoption, or placement described in such paragraph without having to request a waiver from the Secretary concerned; and submit to the Committees on Armed Forces of the Senate and House of Representatives a report regarding the implementation of this section.