Mitchell pushes mandatory sick time
Senate President Libby Mitchell has introduced a bill that would mandate businesses to provide paid sick days to employees.
The bill, "An Act to Aid in the Prevention of the Spread of H1N1 Influenza by Ensuring the Provision of Earned Paid Sick Time," would require businesses with fewer than 25 employees to provide 26 hours of paid sick time annually, or one hour for every 80 hours worked, according to the Bangor Daily News. Larger businesses would be required to provide 52 hours of sick time, accrued at one hour for every 40 hours worked. Employers already meeting these requirements would be exempt. At a press conference yesterday, Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, said the bill would help stem the spread of the H1N1 flu virus and other illnesses, as well as allow people to take paid time in response to mental illness and domestic violence.
But some business groups, including the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business/Maine, say the bill would hurt small businesses already struggling during the recession, according to the Kennebec Journal.
The bill, a revised version of legislation that died in the Maine House in 2008, is expected to go to the Labor Committee when the Legislature reconvenes in January. If the bill passes, Maine would become the first state in the country to mandate paid sick time, according to the Kennebec Journal.
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