Paid sick time bill dropped
The sponsor of a bill that would have required employers to give employees paid sick time has backed off from the effort, after the idea received opposition from the business community.
Senate President Libby Mitchell, also a Democratic candidate for governor, has scrapped the bill, and is instead proposing that all employers be prohibited from firing an employee who takes a sick day, according to the Kennebec Journal. Libby, D-Vassalboro, yesterday presented to the Legislature's labor committee the latest version of LD 1665, which allows an employee to sue a company if he or she is unfairly dismissed for taking sick time. In voicing the decision to scrap the paid sick time bill, Libby told the committee, "We recognize in a tough economy some things are not appropriate."
The original bill, proposed last October, required all employers to provide paid sick time; earlier this month, Libby scaled back the bill to apply to businesses with more than 50 employees. But representatives of the business community, including the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business of Maine, opposed the measure, saying it would raise costs and hurt Maine's competitiveness in keeping and attracting businesses.
However, the Maine State Chamber still opposes the new version, saying it's unnecessary. "I have not seen or am aware of an exceedingly large problem of people losing a job because of sick leave," Peter Gore, a lobbyist for the chamber, said yesterday. The committee delayed a vote until Monday.
Go to the article from the Kennebec Journal >>
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