The Office of Personnel Management on Monday released proposed regulations that would expand the definition of "family member" for purposes of determining leave and long-term care benefits. The regulations, published in the Federal Register, would modify definitions of "family member" and "immediate relative" for determining use of sick leave, funeral leave, voluntary leave transfer, voluntary leave bank and emergency leave transfer.
The proposal would broaden the definition to include "any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association is the equivalent of a family relationship," such as step-parents and step-children, grandparents, grandchildren, and same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners. Another set of regulations would expand the definition of "qualified relative" to include same-sex domestic partners of eligible federal employees for purposes of applying for coverage under the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program.
"The proposed regulation will help agencies address the family needs of an increasingly diverse workforce, and will enhance the federal government's ability to compete with the private sector for talent," OPM said.
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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