A paid sick leave law that passed the Maryland Legislature is now headed for an override battle after Governor Hogan recently vetoed the bill.  The bill would require Maryland employers with more than 15 employees to have a paid sick and safe leave policy.

The Maryland General Assembly passed the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (HB1 (SB230)), which requires that employers with more than 15 employees have a leave policy under which an employee earns at least 1 hour of paid sick and safe leave for every 30 hours an employee works. Those employers with 15 or fewer employees, are not required to offer paid leave, and instead must have a leave policy that provides an employee with at least 1 hour of unpaid leave for every 30 hours an employee works. Maryland employers would not be required to allow an employee to earn more than 40 hours of earned sick and safe leave in a year or use more than 64 hours of earned leave in a year.

Instances where an employer would be required to allow the use of this leave includes the following:

• to care for or treat the employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or condition;
• to obtain preventive medical care for the employee or employee’s family member;
• to care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or condition;
• for maternity or paternity leave; and
• for specified circumstances due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking committed against the employee or the employee’s family member.

If Governor Hogan’s veto is overridden by the legislator, then the law would take effect in January 2018.  The law also would require certain notice provisions that Employers must follow.  For more information, please contact Thatcher Zavaro & Mani for all of your employment and business needs.

Sources:  http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/paid-sick-leave-in-maryland-passes-28086/

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-sick-leave-veto-20170525-story.html