Employers are abuzz about the upcoming start of the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, which goes into effect this Sunday, February 11, 2018. Contrary to some local news reports, efforts to delay this bill have not yet been successful and will still be an uphill battle.
As readers may recall, House Democrats recently won a six-year battle for paid sick leave, which ended with an override of Governor Hogan’s veto. As we reported to you last month, the Maryland General Assembly continues to consider an emergency bill, Senate Bill 304 (“SB304”), to delay the effective date of the law. Our current information suggests that delay may still be an uphill battle. As of today, SB304 successfully passed the Maryland Senate but still must clear the House of Delegates, where Democrats publicly claim to be uninterested in taking up debate on any measure to delay this law.
As for enforcement, it is still possible that the General Assembly will continue to consider delay measures once the law goes into effect. Similarly, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation has suggested that it is not yet prepared to enforce this law and does not anticipate having guidance published until after a public comment period, which may not be until the summer or later. Enforcement efforts therefore could be officially or unofficially delayed some period of time.
In sum, employers should continue efforts to begin calculating sick leave accrual for their eligible employees starting on Sunday.
Opinions and conclusions in this post are solely those of the author unless otherwise indicated. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and is not offered and cannot be considered as legal advice for any particular situation. The author has provided the links referenced above for information purposes only and by doing so, does not adopt or incorporate the contents. Any federal tax advice provided in this communication is not intended or written by the author to be used, and cannot be used by the recipient, for the purpose of avoiding penalties which may be imposed on the recipient by the IRS. Please contact the author if you would like to receive written advice in a format which complies with IRS rules and may be relied upon to avoid penalties.
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