Washington, D.C. — Today, the Maryland Senate overturned Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of the state’s paid sick leave bill, making Maryland the ninth state in the country to require businesses to provide sick leave to their employees.
Shilpa Phadke, senior director of the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement in response:
The passage of paid sick leave by the Maryland Senate is a major victory for all of Maryland’s working families and represents critical progress in the fight to expand paid sick leave to more workers. Virtually all workers will at some point in their working years need time away from work to tend to a sick child, an ailing loved one, or a personal illness. By guaranteeing workers the right to earn paid sick leave, this bill will provide much-needed relief to more than 750,000 working Marylanders—many who are in low-paying jobs. It will ensure that workers can care for their families without putting their economic well-being at risk and will help businesses retain talented workers and increase productivity.
While much work remains, especially at the federal level, Maryland’s win for working families today will serve to inspire more states to follow suit and deliver certainty, fairness, and economic well-being to millions more.
Read: Paid Sick Days and Paid Family and Medical Leave Are Not Job Killers by Danielle Corley, Sunny Frothingham, and Kate Bahn
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Devon Kearns at [email protected] or 202.741.6290.