Legislative Alert | TechMaine

LD 1665 - An Act to Aid in the Prevention of the Spread of H1N1 Influenza by Ensuring the Provision of Earned Paid Sick Time

The Labor Committee of the Maine Legislature will hold a hearing this Thursday on a bill submitted by the President of the Maine Senate and gubernatorial candidate Libby Mitchell, LD 1665 An Act to Prevent the Spread of H1N1. After review by the TechMaine Policy Committee and Board, TechMaine is opposing this bill,

While there are many details in the bill, the bottom-line is that this bill would require every employer to provide paid sick leave to all full time and part-time employees. Employers with fewer than 25 employees would be required to provide 26 hours of sick leave and those with more than 25 employees would have to pay for 52 hours.

Passage of LD 1665 will significantly increase the cost of doing business for Maine employers at a time when they can least afford it. Maine employers and workers are still suffering from the worst recession since the Great Depression. Maine has lost tens of thousands of jobs over the past year. We can't afford to suffer more productivity losses, and passage of this legislation will put current and future jobs at risk. Here is a link to additional information on the Maine Chamber of Commerce website: http://www.mainechamber.org/mx/hm.asp?id=leginfo

The Labor Committee meets in room 220 of the Cross State Office Building in Augusta at 1:00 pm this Thursday, January 14th – we urge you to attend the hearing and testify on the real world impacts of LD 1665 on your company. If you can’t attend, send a letter, or an email, or make a call.

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BILL SUMMARY
This bill requires an employer to give a maximum of 52 accrued hours of paid sick leave per year to any employee who is employed by a large business employer and a maximum of 26 accrued paid sick leave hours per year to any employee who is employed by a small business employer. Paid sick leave is accrued from the first day of employment and can be used on the 90th day and thereafter. Earned paid sick leave may be used by an employee during an absence from employment due to the illness of an employee or illness of an employee's family member, if the employee's place of business is closed due to a public health emergency, if an employee needs to care for a dependent whose school or place of care has been closed due to a public health emergency, for the purpose of an employee accessing necessary preventive health care or an employee's family member accessing necessary preventive health care or due to the employee or the employee's family member being a victim of stalking, domestic violence or sexual abuse.

Link to the Legislation: http://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280035113
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Because the bill is portrayed as responding to a purported public health crisis (H1N1 Swine Flu), we expect the Labor Committee to act quickly. As this bill is positioned as emergency legislation; should it pass, it would go into effect immediately.

Now is the time for you to contact your local Representative or Senator, explain to them how this bill will affect your company and employees, and urge the legislators to vote NO on LD 1655. Listed at the end of this message is our testimony to the Labor Committee – please contact Labor Committee members and make sure your voice is heard.

Maine Legislature Labor Committee Members' e-mail addresses

Senate:

TechMaine's Position

LD 1665 - An Act to Aid in the Prevention of the Spread of H1N1 Influenza by Ensuring the Provision of Earned Paid Sick Time

This testimony is offered in opposition to LD 1665. TechMaine, The Technology Association of Maine, believes that LD 1665 would have a significant negative impact on the growth of Maine’s science and technology related industries. We ask you to vote against this proposed legislation.

TechMaine is supported by hundreds of member businesses across the State of Maine that either create or are reliant on the productivity gains brought about through new technologies. Our member technology companies pay wages, well above the state average. Our members compete in a global marketplace for talented employees and offer attractive benefits. Many provide sick time in excess of what is required in this legislation, but expanded provisions within LD 1665 will place additional burdens on these Maine employers, not only in terms of financial burdens but also in terms of disrupting workflow.

No other state in the country has such a law. Multi-state employers with Maine operations would be forced to establish a separate Maine employee tracking systems, since no other state requires such leave. Workers at multi-state employers are mobile and can work at any company facility or work from home. This added administrative burden on all businesses with a Maine connection will kill job creation immediately. Instead of helping Maine lure new employers and put more Mainers to work, this legislation will drive jobs away from Maine.

TechMaine is currently working with the Maine Department of Labor, the Department of Economic and Community Development and the Maine Office of Innovation to position Maine as an attractive state for companies from-away to locate new offices and hire Maine workers. Passage of this legislation would cripple our efforts to showcase Maine as an attractive state to do business.

We ask that you reject this legislation