As reported by the Baltimore Sun, the House of Delegates passed legislation that requires companies with 15 or more employees to offer paid sick leave to workers at a rate of one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked, totaling 56 hours — or seven days — per year.

The House legislation will now move to the Senate, which has not advanced its version of the bill. The Sun article states,

“It’s been four years of work,” said Del. Luke Clippinger, a Baltimore Democrat who sponsored the bill in the House. “Now the question becomes the Senate.”

The bill would also require county governments to provide sick leave to all employees. While county governments generally provide generous benefits, at a much higher rate than the legislation would require, MACo opposed the legislation, raising concerns with the bill’s potential effects on provision of emergency and essential services and with the bill’s broad requirements for providing leave to part-time, seasonal, and contractual employees in the same manner as full time employees.

The bill that passed the House includes amendments that seek to address some county government concerns, including,

• An option for employers to require up to 7 days notice for foreseeable absences
• An allowance that employers are not required to provide sick leave to seasonal employees within the first 90 days of their employment
• An exemption for employees under the age of 18
• An exemption to carry-over requirements for leave accrued by grant-contingent employees

For more information, see the full story from the Sun, After 3 years of failure, sick leave bill passed by Maryland House and read the text of the bill.