Ocean City business owners decry sick leave measure

Maryland's General Assembly may have overturned Gov. Larry Hogan's veto of a controversial bill requiring many employers to offer sick leave, but Eastern Shore Republicans say the fight isn't over.

“I don’t think the end of the story’s been written yet," said Delegate Chris Adams, R-37B-Wicomico. “I’m getting calls regularly from business people now that they see the bill is now going to be in effect."

Eligible workers will be able to accrue an hour of sick leave for every 30 hours they work, according to the legislation that passed during last year's legislation session. The amount of sick leave was capped at five days per year.

After Hogan vetoed the measure, the Democrats who control both chambers voted last week to override his action.

Supporters claim that 750,000 workers will become eligible for paid leave across the state, although opponents and the Hogan administration dispute that number.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are working to postpone the date the law will take effect to give state regulators time to draft the law's details and allow businesses to prepare for the new documentation it will require. Since the law cleared the Senate on Jan. 12, it is set to go into effect 30 days after that date.

Sen. Jim Mathias, D-38-Worcester, voted for the bill last spring and again to override Hogan's veto. He described those votes Tuesday as a political calculation tailored to ensure him a place at the table to negotiate more favorable terms for businesses.

More:Paid sick leave expands with veto defeated

More:Ocean City businesses worry seasonal workers could exploit sick leave bill

“I had to fight very, very, very hard, and that’s an understatement, to achieve what I achieved," Mathias said.

Now, he said, he plans to use that goodwill with fellow Democrats to push back the law's effective date from 30 to 90 days. 

He said he pushed for — and won — several concessions, the most critical of which was setting the length of time for workers to be eligible for leave at 106 days. The original draft called for 90.

That 16-day change should give clearance for Ocean City businesses to hire workers between Memorial Day and Labor Day without having to offer them paid leave, Mathias said.

Attractions, restaurants and hotels across the resort community hire about 5,500 international students on work visas each year. Some of them argue that 106 days, though, won't cover their workers because the season isn't merely confined to the period between the two holidays.

Delegate Mary Beth Carozza, R-38C-Worcester, said she hopes to extend the seasonal exemption to 120 days and reduce penalties in the law against employers who make paperwork mistakes. 

“I will continue to make it a top priority to push for a commonsense approach that is fair to both workers and employers," she said in a statement.

Companies with fewer than 15 employees are exempt from providing paid leave, according to the law. For many of the employers large enough to be affected, the biggest issue isn't time off but the mandated record keeping, said Bill Chambers, executive director of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce.

More:Taxes, paid sick leave are big issues on Maryland legislators' agenda

More:Opinion: Politicians, let business owners make their own decisions on pay, sick leave

Many companies lack human resources departments to track how long someone has been employed and how much leave they've earned, he said. The state can fine businesses up to $1,000 for each employee not in compliance with the law.

“I think you’re going to see a halt" in businesses hiring new employees, Chambers said. "I know our business community thinks it’s a job-killer.” 

Employers shouldn't be told how to take care of their employees, said Bill Gibbs, owner of the Dough Roller pizza and pancake restaurant chain in Ocean City. He provides sick leave already, he added.

“It’s going to be a lot of paperwork and taking away from management to get the proper documentation," Gibbs said. 

He also worries that seasonal employees will use the sick leave to take off during their last scheduled work week.

Rick Deale, owner of the two King Kone ice cream shops, said he is "for and against" the law. While he supports paid leave for older workers with families, he said the season is too short and the need for help is too great to spare people who want to take off from work.

"If my employees abuse the sick leave act, I could essentially be paying two employees for the length of the season who would never be seeing the light of my store," Deale said.

Hogan has called the measure badly flawed and damaging to small businesses. He urged lawmakers to consider an alternative that would have phased in sick leave for businesses with 25 or more employees by 2020.

Hogan issued an executive order after Friday's veto creating an Office of Small Business Regulatory Assistance to help companies comply with the new law. But he hopes Democrats will work with him to improve what's already on the books.

“For more than a year, I have implored legislators to work with us in a bipartisan fashion to make sure we get this right for Maryland workers and job creators. There is still time to work together to ensure our small businesses and workers are protected and provided the benefits they need,” Hogan said in a statement.

Mathias, who owned and operated a Boardwalk arcade for decades, said he understands small business owners' concerns and worked to secure as many concessions as he could on their behalf. He also took credit for reducing the maximum paid leave from seven to five days.

He described the finished product as a victory for the Lower Shore's many low-income residents.

“People are impoverished. This is important to them. For them, losing a day of work is losing a day of pay," Mathias said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

410-845-4630

On Twitter @Jeremy_Cox