Senator Adriane Johnson (District 30) filed legislation to provide up to an additional 40 hours of paid leave to employees with “menstrual health condition[s].”

The legislation, SB 2967, applies to all employers, including employers with only one employee.

The mandate is layered on top of the existing paid-leave requirements of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act.

Per the legislation, “[a]n employer may request up to 24 hours of notice by an employee for foreseeable requests for leave…. [but] an employer shall allow for short-notice requests for leave if an employee has an acute need for the leave.”

Neither “foreseeable” nor “acute” is defined in the legislation.

The employees must have a “documented history of a debilitating menstrual health condition.” But “[a]n employer shall not require an employee to provide a doctor’s note for requests for leave under this Section that are less than 3 days in duration.”

Violations would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per impacted employee.

Employees would also be able to file a complaint with the Department of Labor or bring a civil lawsuit against employers.