The 437th session of the Maryland General
assembly convened on January 11, 2017 and will run for the next ninety days. Before
the session started two news stories came out in December that will affect
Maryland business and, as always, these things tend to hit small business
owners in some way.
Governor Hogan, who has been a strong proponent for Maryland
business, big and small, announced on December 7, 2016, that he plans on
proposing mandatory paid sick leave in his legislative package. Under his proposal, businesses that have at least 50 employees
will be required to offer paid sick leave totaling at least 40 hours a year and
the ability for employees to roll over a maximum of 40 hours each year.
Part-time employees would be covered after a minimum of 30 working hours and
seasonal industries would be exempt if workers are employed for less than 120
days in a 12-month period. Small businesses, with
less than 50 employees, who offer paid sick leave, would be eligible for tax
relief.
During the announcement Governor Hogan said, “While all of us agree that more workers need sick leave in
Maryland, it would be irresponsible to put a law on the books that unfairly
penalizes our state’s job creators. It is clear that, in order to move forward,
we must strike a balance between the needs of Maryland’s employees while not
hurting our small businesses and continuing to foster a more business-friendly climate
in our state.”
On December 20, 2016, news broke that five retailers who do
business in Maryland agreed to end “on call” scheduling. This type of
scheduling is not what one would commonly define as being available to be
recalled to work. No, this type of on call means that employees must
call their employer an hour before a scheduled shift to find out if they are
required to work that day. If not, they are not paid for that shift, even
though they may have been scheduled or planning to work.
Aeropostale, Carter's, Disney, PacSun and Zumiez stopped
the practice after an inquiry from attorneys general in Maryland, New York, California,
Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and
the District of Columbia. In part, the inquiry stated that
unpredictable schedules make it difficult for retail employees to work a second
job, pursue an education, or care for family members.
The Maryland gubernatorial election is in 2018 and you
can expect the political posturing to start this legislative session. Hang on,
because this ride is always bumpy. We’ll see what comes out in April.