MANDATED SICK DAYS

Capitalism, contrary to what many conservatives would say, works best when its more self-serving impulses are reined in by laws and regulations. From workplace safety and equal opportunity hiring rules to banking disclosures and restaurant health standards, government regularly interferes in the affairs of business, to mostly good results. But sometimes it goes too far.

LD 1454, a bill proposed by Rep. Jacqueline Norton, D-Bangor, would mandate that businesses employing 25 or more provide paid sick leave to both full- and part-time employees. The bill, if approved, would have employers providing a “minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked by the employee.” For a 40-hour work week, that works out to eight days sick leave per year. The leave can be used for illness, or when the employee must care for a sick family member. The employer may require verification of the qualifying illness, injury or health condition when five consecutive paid sick days are used. If approved, LD 1454 would allow employees to carry over sick leave from one year into the next, but not more than nine days. Employers would not be able to reduce existing sick leave policies to match the LD 1454 rate of accrual.

Paid sick leave generally benefits both employer and employee. The employee is able to stay home and recuperate so he or she can return to full productivity at work once the illness has passed. And the employer benefits by not having the sick employee coming to work with a contagious illness which could spread through the work force.

There is, of course, the potential for abuse. Some workers take sick leave when they are not sick, either because they lack personal integrity or because they have come to see sick leave as part of a benefit package to which they are entitled. LD 1454, because it has the force of law, might contribute to the latter perception.

If the sick leave bill is approved, it would make Maine the first state in the nation with such a rule, perhaps furthering any anti-business reputation the state may have. And most significantly, the need for the bill has not been demonstrated. Most businesses that employ 25 or more already offer paid sick leave.

LD 1454, while well-intentioned, is not the right medicine for Maine’s business climate.