The House of Delegates on Friday passed mandatory sick leave on Friday without a provision that would preempt the existing Montgomery County law. Despite being urged by GSSCC and other state-wide business groups, Montgomery County delegates neglected to attempt amending the bill to assure that only one sick leave law applies to County businesses. The House version of the bill now goes to the Senate.

As the House was considering its bill, the Senate Finance Committee held a work session to consider amendments offered to its bill SB230.  Among amendments offered were: reducing the annual accrued hours from 56 to 40; exempting temporary and home health agencies; accommodations for shift swapping that is common in restaurants; and a change that would have, in essence, exempted seasonal employees who work 120 days or less. All were defeated along party lines, with the only Montgomery County member of the committee opposing these changes that would have made the bill more business-friendly. Senator Brian Feldman, from Montgomery County District 15, offered two amendments that were successful. One reduced the number of hours accrued from 56 to 48 per year. But that change won't likely benefit any Montgomery County employers because his other amendment, which assures that Montgomery County can make changes to its law in the future, fell short of mandating that any changes to Montgomery County's law would have to conform to state law.