hogan2016

A Few Reminders About Sick Leave

Governor Larry Hogan vetoed the Democrats sick leave bill yesterday. As we reported, that’s put at least one Democratic Delegate completely over the edge. But this is a good time to remind you about a few key things about the Democrats failed legislation and why the Governor vetoed it;

  • The bill the Democrats past was dead on arrival; it was complicated, unworkable, and flawed. It was a regurgitation of a bill that failed to pass the Democratic-controlled legislature four years running, except worse.
  • Democrats passed this bill for one reason; political opportunism at its worst. They don’t care about the damage that the bill will do to working-class Marylanders
  • Like their failed Obamacare approach, the Democratic bill institutes sick leave with no flexibility for employers, at the expense of hefty fines and penalties.
  • Seasonal workers would be disproportionately harmed by the legislation due to an unworkable arrangement included in the bill.
  • Democrats threw privacy out the window; under their plan employees may be required to verify why they are requesting paid sick leave, divulging sensitive medical information in violation of the employee’s right to privacy.

Ultimately however, the fact is that the Democrats bill would put people out of work. The arbitrary threshold of 15 employees for a business to be covered by the new law creates a disincentive for employers to grow. Businesses will be less inclined to hire seasonal workers with the manner that seasonal workers were covered under the unworkable Democratic plan. Furthermore, it has the potential to take away other benefits for workers and creates additional costs and burden on employees. Ultimately, those costs are going to be passed on to consumers.

The Democrats talk about the need to come to the table for compromise. Well, Democrats have had the opportunity to compromise since Governor Hogan announced his support for paid sick leave before the state of the General Assembly session. Instead of wanting to cooperate however, the Democrats were more concerned about trying to score cheap political points than they were passing comprehensive legislation that would meet the objectives that claim to be working toward. Even back when the Governor made his proposal, the Democrats were more concerned with flinging food than they were in working with the Governor. Based on the reaction that we have seen, they seem to be continuing to take the immature position.

The Governor sounds like he wants to work on a comprehensive solution on paid sick leave. Will the Democrats do the right thing? You already know the answer to that…



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