Both the House and the Senate versions of paid sick leave legislation advanced last month, but Gov. Larry Hogan announced both job-killing measures are ‘dead on arrival.’ However, the Baltimore Sun reported, the governor also said he would be willing to compromise with lawmakers.
Hogan’s own paid leave plan, which is stalled in committee, would require five days of paid leave for workers at companies with 50 or more employees. It would exempt franchises that have workers spread across multiple locations, and it would give $60 million in tax breaks to small businesses that voluntarily offer paid leave.
The House’s bill, which passed with a veto-proof majority, would require at least seven days of leave for full-time workers at companies with 15 or more employees. Businesses with fewer workers would still be required to offer seven days of unpaid leave. Part-time workers who work at least eight hours per week would be eligible to earn paid sick leave, with exemptions for minors and seasonal employees working fewer than 90 days.
On the Senate side, the bill requires employers with at least 15 employees to provide five days of paid sick leave, while smaller businesses would have to provide the same amount of unpaid leave. Part-time workers would have to work at least 12 hours per week to be eligible for paid leave, and there would be an exemption for seasonal employees working 106 days or fewer.
Even the requirement to provide unpaid leave burdens small businesses, however, because they must pay both the employee who is out sick as well as their replacement, and they are subject to penalties if they don’t comply.
The Baltimore Sun reported NFIB/MD’s approval of the governor’s veto plans: “The governor knows firsthand how difficult it can be to own and operate a small business, and his continued dedication to our members is evident in his latest move to ensure that job creators do not suffer under what would be an extremely costly mandate,” said State Director Mike O’Halloran.
Given that the House can overturn Gov. Hogan’s veto, however, the fight isn’t over yet.
