H.B. 1 is the first bill to be drafted for the 2017 session of the Maryland General Assembly. It very much resembles the bill that passed the House last year. Major aspects of the bill include:

*Employers with 15 or more employees would be required to provide sick and safe leave
*Employers with 14 or fewer employees would be required to provide unpaid sick and safe leave
*Earned sick and safe leave will be accrued at a rate of at least 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. This would start January 1, 2018
*Employers will be required to keep all records regarding sick and safe leave for at least 3 years
*Severe sanctions are currently included in the bill should the employer violate any provisions of this law

Of major concern to ABC is a provision in the bill which would exempt union construction workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement. ABC is fighting to have this exemption deleted from any sick and safe leave bill. There is no justification for carving out this small segment of the industry. Either everyone is in, or everyone is exempt. ABC is also supporting language which would provide a preemption provision which means the state law would supersede and local bill enacted dealing with the same subject. (i.e. Montgomery County). A link to be bill is provided below.

Will continue to keep the membership up-to-date once the session starts on January 11. At the appropriate point in the process, you will be asked to contact members of the General Assembly on this important piece of legislation. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Bob Zinsmeister at 301-595-9711 or [email protected].