The Senate has passed SB 230, “Labor and Employment – Maryland Healthy Working Families Act” with a veto-proof majority. The vote was 29-18. The bill would require Maryland employers to provide paid sick and safe leave for many of their employees.
The bill has significant differences from the House version and needs to be reconciled before it can be sent to Governor Hogan, who has promised to veto the bill. Most notably, the Senate version provides for 5 days of paid sick and safe leave, the House version provides for 7 days.
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 about 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.
Useful Links
For more on MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2017 legislative session, visit our Legislative Tracking Database.
