Universal sick leave bill falls short in Maine Senate
A bill to guarantee sick leave for Maine workers was defeated Wednesday in the Maine Senate by a 20-15 vote on a motion to reject the legislation.
LD 1159, “An Act To Support Healthy Workplaces and Healthy Families by Providing Paid Sick Leave to Certain Employees,” was sponsored by Sen. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth.
“The untimely demise of this bill is an insult to the thousands of Mainers without sick leave, who face lost pay, retribution or even firing for taking a day off to recover from illness or care for a sick child or parent,” Millett said in a statement provided by the Senate Democratic Office. “Illness is a fact of life, and the United States is one of the only advanced countries in the world that doesn’t guarantee workers the ability to take time off to care for themselves or their families when they get sick. Working while sick is bad for the individual, the workplace and the community. I’m deeply disappointed that a majority of my colleagues in the Senate could not find it within themselves to support workers and families in Maine.”
The bill would have required employers to allow their employees to accrue sick leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. Employees would be able to use sick leave to care for themselves or immediate family members, or to take time off if they or members of their family were victims of domestic or sexual abuse. Companies with 50 or more employees would be required to offer paid sick leave, while companies with fewer than 50 employees would be required to offer sick leave without pay.
The Maine Chamber of Commerce, Maine Restaurant Association, Maine Innkeepers Association, Retail Association of Maine and Maine Department of Labor were among those that opposed Millett’s bill, while the Maine Women’s Lobby, Maine Center for Economic Policy, Maine AFL-CIO, Maine Education Association, Maine People’s Alliance and the Maine chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness all testified in favor of it.
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