Bill Positions

Bill Number: SB 562

Bill Title: Labor and Employment - Flexible Leave

Bill Sponsor(s): Senator Garagiola, et al

Subject: Workplace Regulations

Committee: FIN

Bill Summary: This bill clarifies specific sections of the Flexible Leave Act, which requires an employer with 15 or more employees to allow employees to use any type of accrued leave to care for an ill family member. This legislation: 1) Provies specific definitions of key terms including, child, parent, employee, employer, and leave with pay. 2) Provies a leave parity provision, which provides that the employee use leave to care of a family member under the same conditions and policy rules that would apply for the employee’s own illness. 3) Clarifies the anti-retaliation provision to specify that an employer may not discharge, demote, suspend, discipline, etc. an employee only because the employee has taken leave under the Flexible Leave Act.

History: HB 40 the Flexible Leave Act passed the General Assembly and was signed into law by the Governor in 2008. SB 562 clarifies the Flexible Leave Act, and was enacted as Chapter 560.

Chamber Position: Support

Position Summary: The Maryland Chamber and other interested business groups worked throughout the interim to develop clarifying legislation to address the vagueness and broad scope of the original Flexible Leave Act. This bill appropriately addresses the numerous concerns that employers expressed regarding the original language in the Flexible Leave Act. It is designed to help employers and employees properly implement and use flexible leave. For these reasons, the Maryland Chamber supported this emergency bill.

Position Statement: Click here (pdf)

Chamber Staff: Allyson Black

General Assembly: Click here to view the bill on the Maryland General Assembly's website.