The US Department of Labor is proposing a new set of guidelines for granting paid-sick-leave requirement for federal contractors, but some attorneys are warning of a hidden bombshell:  Buried in pages of proposed regulations sits a bombshell:  Paid leave may be taken to care for "close friends".

It's written pretty broadly to reflect changes in family relations such as same-sex partnerships, unmarried couples living together, or close relationships that do not fit parochial old definitions of who makes up - or is allowed to make up - a family.  But firms are hiring lawyers to seek clarification because they see it as being "ripe for abuse".  Under the proposed rule as written, an employee may take a paid sick day to watch a movie with a "close friend" who has a cold, according to Minneapolis attorney Sarah Gorajski, who represents companies with labor issues.

"The good news is it’s only 56 hours of paid leave a year," said Tom Rebel, another pro-management attorney.  He's troubled over the loose definition of "close associate", that he thinks might be a "next-door neighbor that the employee had lunch with sometime".

The US Department of Labor says each employee of firms that do business with the US government should provide up to seven paid sick days annually - that's 56 hours per year per worker - not only for their own health needs, but for "caring for a child, a parent, a spouse, a domestic partner or any other relation by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship and who has a medical condition or need for diagnosis, care or preventive care".

The "close association" could be a grandparent or cousin or in-law; but it also includes those persons "to the extent that the connection between the employee and the individual was significant enough to be regarded as having the closeness of a family relationship, even though the individuals might not be related by blood or formally in law."

That will help people with foster children, or former foster children who are still attached to their former providers, or even long-term friends who are "just like one of the family".  Once the worker makes the request for a day off and identifies that it is for a "close associate", the employer may not demand intimate details nor may it provide the day off in a way that is burdensome for the worker.

The Labor Department is taking comments on the issue until the end of the month before a final decision is made on what appears to be a good deal for working people and a victory for common decency.