Congress to Consider Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
According to an article published by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) on May 15, 2009, Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut will be reintroducing the Healthy Families Act in both houses of Congress this week. The legislation, if passed, will require all employers with fifteen or more employees to offer a minimum of seven paid sick days per year for workers to use to care for their own or a family member’s medical needs.
According to the article, the legislation is being supported by three different advocacy groups: The National Partnership for Women and Families; The Fairness Initiative on Low-Wage Workers; and The National Association of Working Women. The same legislation was proposed, but failed, in the 2007 Congress. Similar legislation has been passed on the local level in San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Washington D.C. It is also being proposed in Philadelphia and New York City.
In an effort to relieve the burden on employers of tracking local, state and federal requirements, SHRM is recommending alternative federal legislation that would encourage – but not require – employers to offer paid sick leave in return for an exemption from complying with other local, state, or federal legislation on the issue. Currently, the federal Family Medical Leave Act requires employers with fifty or more employees at a given worksite to offer their employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid medical leave annually. For more information, you can visit SHRM’s website at www.shrm.org or contact us directly.
Dirk A. Beamer