Summary — HB 398: "KinCare Act" (Enact KinCare & Safe Days)
Status & basic info
- Bill: HB 398 — "Enact KinCare & Safe Days"
- Introduced: Nov 12, 2024
- Primary sponsor (NC version): Rep. Cunningham (and co-sponsors listed in file)
- Subject areas: Employment; leave; family issues; personnel; public employees; salaries & benefits
- Adds a new statutory section: G.S. 95‑25.12A (Sick leave plans) and amends G.S. 95‑241(a)(1) (anti‑retaliation).
- Effective date (as enacted): October 1, 2025.
Purpose and intent
- To expand employees’ ability to use employer‑provided sick leave to care for family members (KinCare) and to make clear that leave can be used when employee or a family member is a victim of stalking/domestic/sexual violence (Safe Days). The intent is to protect workers’ job security when they take short sick‑leave absences to care for family or obtain services related to abuse.
Key provisions
- Definitions (selected):
- “Family member” includes: child, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, civil union partner, parent, grandparent, certain in‑law and step‑relations, and any person related by blood or whose close association is equivalent to family.
- “Sick leave” means accrued job‑protected leave (paid or unpaid) provided as an employment benefit and used for employee illness, preventive care, pregnancy, certain medical conditions, or needs arising from stalking/domestic/sexual violence.
- Use of sick leave for family care:
- Employers who provide job‑protected sick leave must permit an employee to use accrued, available sick leave to attend to the care of a family member for up to five consecutive days in any calendar year.
- Any conditions or restrictions the employer places on employee use of sick leave apply equally when leave is used for family care under this section.
- Relationship to other laws and benefits:
- The statute does not change or extend the maximum leave available under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
- The section does not apply to benefits governed by ERISA, nor to insurance benefits, workers’ compensation, unemployment‑disability benefits, or benefits not payable from an employer’s general assets.
- Remedies and protections:
- The bill amends the state anti‑retaliation statute (G.S. 95‑241) to list G.S. 95‑25.12A among protected activities — protecting employees from discrimination or retaliatory action for exercising rights under the new KinCare provision.
- Rights and remedies in the new section are cumulative and supplemental to contractual or other legal remedies.
Who is affected
- Employers: Any employer that already provides compensated or uncompensated job‑protected sick leave must comply with the new permission to use sick leave for family care as described (the State and political subdivisions are explicitly included in the bill’s definition of “employer”).
- Employees: Workers with accrued sick leave benefit from a statutory right to use leave to care for covered family members (including for needs arising from stalking/domestic/sexual violence), subject to employers’ existing leave rules and the five‑consecutive‑day limit.
- Exclusions: Employers who do not offer sick leave have no new pay/leave obligation; ERISA‑governed plans and certain non‑employer benefit streams are not governed by this statute.
Procedural / timeline notes
- The bill was passed its first reading and, if enacted as indicated in the file, becomes effective October 1, 2025.
- Implementation: Employers should review sick‑leave policies and administrative procedures to ensure compliance by the effective date and update employee notices/handbooks and anti‑retaliation training as needed.
Practical considerations and ambiguities
- The statute limits family‑care use to “no more than five consecutive days” in any calendar year. It is not explicit whether employees may take multiple non‑consecutive family‑care sick‑leave episodes (each not exceeding five consecutive days) or whether the statute intends to cap all family‑care use to five consecutive days total per year; employers and courts may seek clarifying guidance or interpretation.
- Employers retain the ability to impose the same documentation, notice, or approval procedures they use for other sick leave, so long as those requirements are applied uniformly.
Bottom line
HB 398 creates a statutory right (for employees who already have sick leave) to use accrued sick leave to care for family members — including during situations involving stalking/domestic/sexual violence — for up to five consecutive days per calendar year, and strengthens anti‑retaliation protection for employees who use that leave. Employers should update leave policies and compliance practices ahead of the effective date.
