Local business leaders, lawmakers react after passage of paid family, medical leave bill

Reaction to passage of a Maryland law that would allow employees to take between 12 and 24 weeks of paid family and medical leave is getting mixed reaction from business and labor leaders.

Time to Care Act of 2022 was passed by the General Assembly during its session that ended April 11. Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, vetoed the bill before the end of the session and the General Assembly, controlled by Democrats, overrode the veto.

Paul Frey, president of the county chamber of commerce, told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview last month that the legislation is well-intentioned and that every business owner and nonprofit executive he's talked to wants to take care of their employees and provide them with time off when they need it.

"It's especially important these days, given the current staffing problem," Frey said, whose chamber of commerce represents 575 member businesses and organizations. "(But) you have to be able to pay for this."

The law establishes an insurance program where employers and employees, as well as self-employed individuals, contribute to a fund with rates that are determined by the Maryland Department of Labor.

Small businesses of 15 or more employees are required to contribute to the fund.

The bill would allow an employee to take 12 weeks of paid leave for any medical or family emergency. An employee may take an additional 12 weeks of paid leave in certain circumstances.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is a program on the federal level, which gives employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave. The difference between the two is the state program is paid leave as well as those who qualify for the federal program are employed with an employer of at least 50 employees.

Some advocates have said the law isn't perfect, but that it's good moving forward. Patrick Morgan, president of the AFSCME Council 3, told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview last month that he thinks the outcome will be fantastic.

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"It's going to be better for families, it's going to be better for newborns, it's going to be better for people that have been injured in their country and employers in the long run are going to find that they're going to have a more productive and a healthier workforce," Morgan said.

What led to the veto?

In his letter to Senate President Bill Ferguson vetoing the bill, Hogan said that he would have been inclined to support the Time to Care Act of 2022 had the General Assembly moved forward with a family and medical leave program that adhered to the Obama Administration's definition of a small business.

The Obama Administration defines a small business to be 50 employees or more, according to Hogan's letter.

Hogan added that the Department of Labor would have to determine the cap or cost-sharing formula for the fund.

With fears of a looming recession, he said enacting a "$1.6 billion regressive statewide payroll tax is the worst thing lawmakers could be imposing on our Maryland employers and employees" and that he felt the piece of legislation was rushed.

"While we share the goal of providing a healthy working environment and sufficient leave time for working Marylanders to care for themselves, their families and bond with new children, (Time to Care Act of 2022) is an irresponsibly crafted, rushed piece of legislation that unfairly penalizes the … thousands of hard working men and women who own and operate small businesses in Maryland," Hogan said.

The veto override makes Maryland the tenth state to participate in a paid family leave program. The other states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. The District of Colombia also has a paid family leave program.

Sen. Antonio Hays, D-Baltimore City and lead sponsor of the bill, said legislative analysts have in fact determined the costs will be low, even for small businesses.

“Employers that have under 14 employees, will not be required to make a contribution to the program but the employees will have the opportunity to participate in the program," Hays said. "At the end of the day, we're talking about a dollar fifty, two dollars.”

Morgan, the AFSCME president, said that the U.S. is behind the curve on having a paid family and medical leave program, citing other countries in the world like Germany, Sweden, Norway and Canada that have such a program.

"Every industrialized country in the world … has this (program)," he added. "We consistently hear from a lot of politicians how they believe in the power of health for family and health for babies. But what can be more healthy … than paid family medical leave?"

Frey, the Washington County chamber president, said that the chamber had agreed to move the bill forward if the General Assembly added a commission to get input from the business community.

"The (Maryland) House went back on its word on our agreement … they flip-flopped," he said.

The bill passed with no parameters around the cost of business workers and taxpayers, according to Frey. He added that the business community is not being heard and that advocates for the bill were talking with them, but they were not implementing the communities input.

"Companies looking at Maryland may rethink, 'Do I want to grow or start a business in Maryland with all these extra costs of business?'" Frey said. "And this is one of them."

The Time to Care Act of 2022 will go into effect Oct. 1, 2023 and employers and employees will begin contributing to the fund Jan. 2025.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Time to Care Act of 2022 passes the Maryland General Assembly