Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 8 and Title 49, Chapter 5, Part 7.

This bill establishes family leave for public employees. Under this bill, each teacher who has been employed by an LEA, and each employee of this state who has been employed by the state, for one year or more within the past seven years and at least 1,250 hours during the past 12 months will be eligible for paid family leave upon experiencing one or more of the following qualifying events: (1) The birth of the teacher's or state employee's son or daughter; (2) The placement of a minor son or daughter with the teacher or state employee for adoption or foster care; (3) The need to care for the teacher's or state employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent if the spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health condition; (4) The existence of a serious health condition that makes the teacher or state employee unable to perform the teacher's or state employee's job duties; (5) A qualifying exigency, as determined by rules promulgated by the state board of education or commissioner of human resources, as applicable, arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the teacher or state employee is on covered active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty, in the armed forces; or (6) To care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the teacher or state employee is the spouse, son, daughter, or next of kin of the servicemember. An eligible teacher or state employee will be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of paid family leave during the 12-month period immediately following the qualifying event. A teacher or state employee will not receive more than 12 workweeks of paid family leave for any 12-month period, even if more than one qualifying event occurs during that period. The state board of education and the department of human resources, as applicable, will promulgate rules for certifying the appropriate amount of paid family leave that a teacher or state employee may use for each qualifying event, and this certification must be consistent with the state board and department's rules and any applicable policies and practices to certify FMLA leave. The human resources personnel for the teacher's LEA or state employee's department will certify the appropriate amount of paid family leave that the employee may use for each qualifying event, consistent with such rules. If an eligible teacher or state employee experienced a qualifying event prior to the effective date of this bill and has not used all of the FMLA leave to which the person was entitled as a result of the qualifying event, then the teacher or state employee will be entitled to paid family leave beginning on the effective date of this bill for the remainder of the FMLA leave that such person uses on or after the effective date of this bill as a result of that qualifying event. In such circumstance, the duration of paid family leave must not exceed the paid family leave available under this bill. This bill provides that paid family leave: (1) Must be paid at 100 percent of the teacher's or state employee's salary; (2) Must be used within 12 months of the qualifying event entitling the teacher or state employee to the leave; (3) Runs concurrently with FMLA leave and any other leave to which the teacher or state employee may be entitled as a result of the qualifying event. The leave must overlap with and cannot be used in addition or consecutive to any FMLA or other leave. However, the bill states that this provision does not affect any other paid or unpaid leave benefits to which a teacher or state employee may be entitled; and (4) Does not count against a teacher's or state employee's annual, sick, or compensatory leave balances. However, the teacher or state employee will not accrue annual, sick, or compensatory leave while using paid family leave.