Ohio Coalition Withdraws Paid Sick Leave Initiative from November Ballot 

The Ohioans for Healthy Families, a 229-member coalition of organizations trying to bring paid sick leave to Ohio workers, notified Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on September 4, 2008, that it was withdrawing an initiative scheduled for the November ballot that would have required employers with 25 or more employees to provide not less than seven days of paid sick leave annually for full-time employees. The coalition, which is made up of religious, labor, healthcare and community groups, decided to remove the initiative from the ballot after Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill) pledged his support for a federal paid sick leave bill called that Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1542/S.910) during his speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.

Reintroduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) in March 2007, the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1542/S.910) would require private and public employers with 15 or more employees to provide a minimum of seven paid sick days a year to full-time workers ( i.e., working 30 hours per week) to care for the medical needs of themselves or sick family members. The amount of leave would be pro-rated for part-time employees (working less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year). Specifically, the leave can be used to care for the employee’s own illness or physical or mental condition, to obtain a medical diagnosis, a related treatment or preventive care and to care for a family member for those same reasons. A “family member” is defined as a child, parent, spouse or any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. Under the proposed bill, employers must: (1) post notice of the availability of paid sick leave and how to file an enforcement action; (2) make, keep, and preserve records on compliance with the Act; and (3) keep health information confidential and separate from personnel files; and (4) not discriminate against, interfere with or deny the employee’s right to paid sick leave. The requirements under the Act are minimum requirements and are not to be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies. The bill can be found at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:s910is.txt.pdf EXE:  http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_billsdocid=f:s910is.txt.pdf. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Healthy Families Act would cost $3 million to $4 million annually. The bill would not affect direct spending or revenues.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D), who had opposed the Ohio ballot initiative, said he would support the Healthy Families Act, which is co-sponsored by Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown (D). The Ohio initiative has been opposed by employers, trade associations and business organizations. Last month, a proposed bill (AB 2716) that would require California employers to provide paid sick days to their employers died in the California Senate Appropriations Committee. Amid pressure from business groups, the appropriations committee determined that the bill could not go forward during the current legislative cycle because the annual administrative costs for implementing and maintaining the program would not be justified when the state is facing a significant budget deficit, according to media reports. Called the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act, the bill would have allowed employees to use the leave to recover from illness, care for a sick family member or recover from domestic violence or sexual assault.

Reprinted with permission. © CCH

Ohio Coalition Withdraws Paid Sick Leave Initiative from November Ballot  The Ohioans for Healthy Families, a 229 member coalition of organizations trying to bring paid sick leave to Ohio workers, notified Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on September 4, 2008,