HB551, titled the Support Through Loss Act, would require Pennsylvania employers with five or more employees to provide each employee 24 hours of paid leave at the start of each calendar year. The leave could be used for absences related to pregnancy loss, an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or assisted reproductive technology, a failed adoption match, a failed surrogacy arrangement, or another diagnosis or event affecting pregnancy or fertility. Employees could also use the leave to care for a spouse or domestic partner experiencing one of those circumstances.
The bill also prohibits employers from interfering with or retaliating against employees who use the leave, from counting the leave under no-fault attendance policies, and from using the leave as a factor in hiring, promotion, discipline, or reductions in hours. Employers would have notice and posting obligations, and the Department of Labor and Industry would be authorized to investigate complaints, assess administrative penalties, and enforce the law through civil actions. The bill creates a private right of action for employees and domestic partners, allows recovery of lost wages or other monetary losses, interest, liquidated damages, attorney fees, and equitable relief, and sets a 60-day effective date.
If enacted, HB551 would add a new state leave entitlement and enforcement framework to Pennsylvania labor law. It would apply to covered employers in commerce or activities affecting commerce and would require either a separate 24-hour leave grant or an existing paid leave policy that already meets the bill’s requirements. The measure would also create new statutory duties for employers regarding notices, recordkeeping implications through enforcement, and compliance with anti-retaliation rules.
The general sentiment reflected by the bill’s introduction is supportive of workers and families facing pregnancy-related loss or fertility-related setbacks, with the bill framed as a compassionate workplace protection. No committee transcript or vote data is available, so there is no recorded debate or formal vote history to indicate broader legislative sentiment. Based on the sponsors and the bill’s structure, the proposal appears intended to expand leave protections rather than limit them.
The main points of contention likely center on the scope and cost of the mandate for employers, especially smaller covered businesses, and on the breadth of covered events, which extends beyond miscarriage or stillbirth to fertility treatment failures, adoption disruptions, and surrogacy failures. Employers may also object to the private right of action, liquidated damages, attorney fees, and administrative penalties, while supporters are likely to emphasize the need for job protection and paid time off during deeply personal and medically sensitive circumstances.
HB551 would create a new chapter of employer obligations in Pennsylvania by mandating 24 hours of paid leave annually for specified pregnancy-loss and fertility-related reasons, or requiring an equivalent paid leave policy. It would also prohibit retaliation and attendance-policy penalties, establish notice requirements, and authorize enforcement by the Department of Labor and Industry and through private lawsuits. The bill would affect employers with five or more employees, employees, domestic partners, and the state labor enforcement system.
The bill’s apparent sentiment is generally supportive and empathetic toward employees experiencing pregnancy loss, fertility treatment failure, adoption disruption, or related family medical events. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes, there is no documented opposition or support from legislative debate in the provided materials. The bill’s introduction by multiple sponsors suggests an effort to build backing for a worker-protection measure.
Likely areas of contention include the cost and administrative burden on covered employers, the requirement to provide paid leave rather than unpaid leave, and the bill’s inclusion of fertility treatment, adoption, and surrogacy-related events in addition to pregnancy loss. Employers may also object to the enforcement provisions, including private lawsuits, liquidated damages, attorney fees, and administrative fines, while supporters would likely argue that these remedies are necessary to ensure compliance and meaningful access to leave.