Connecticut Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Daniel Schwartz : Stamford, Hartford New Haven, CT

Today is the final day of the General Assembly and the Paid Sick Leave proposal (S.B. 217) is expected to come before the House before the close of business.  But, perhaps in a sign that it is doomed to die a procedural death, it has drawn nearly 25 proposed amendments.  

One of the listed amendments is just a head scratcher.  Specifically, House Amendment 6092 (proposed by House Republican Leader Lawrence Cafero and Rep. Aman) would, in essence, allow employees to use paid sick leave for the first day of summer, the first day of fishing or hunting season, or, and I kid you not, the opening day of baseball season. 

Don't believe me? Here's the actual language:  

(e) No employer shall require documentation of an illness, injury or health condition, as described in subsection (b) of this section, if the employee uses a paid sick day on the twenty-first day of the month of June, the first day of a sport-fishing or hunting season authorized pursuant to chapter 26 of the general statutes, or the opening day of the official Major League Baseball season. " 

Thus, under this amendment, an employee could take the day off to attend the Opening Day of baseball season, and the employer would just have to "take the employee's word" that the day was a paid sick leave day.  The Office of Fiscal Analysis even issued a one sentence report indicating that it would have no "fiscal impact" in the state.

Because the proposal comes from two Republican lawmakers (who, as a group, have expressed skepticism about the bill), I think it's fair to say that this proposal will go nowhere. Maybe it is just being used to make a point that the paid sick leave bill will be difficult to enforce. But, given the ramifications of the Paid Sick Leave act bill, as I've covered before, one has to wonder what they were thinking in taking the time to draft an actual amendment on this topic.

The General Assembly starts again this morning. Grab your popcorn. Should be a fun last day.

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Late Thursday night, the State Senate passed the Paid Sick Leave bill (S.B. 217) with various amendments including an exemption for some existing collective bargaining agreements.  The vote was a close one -- 20-16 -- and you can find the roll call here.

The bill would make Connecticut the first state to require employers of 50 or more, to allow workers to take 6½ paid sick days per year. It would also apply to municipalities.  One additional amendment that passed would limt the times when employee could use sick time for an illness of an employee or employee's child.

The bill now moves on to the House for further consideration, where nearly 40 legislators have publicly co-sponsored the bill already.  Some of the sponsors of the bill have predicted passage there, but its real future is unknown at this point, with the session winding down.  Debate in the Senate took two days and it is unclear if there is enough time left for the bill to pass. 

The Hartford Courant has a late report and reaction here:

[State Senator Edith] Prague called the bill a major boon to average working people, "especially single parents, like women, who have to go to work. They can't afford the luxury of staying home if they're sick. They need that day's pay to feed the kids ... and heat the house." ...

But opponents said the increasing business competition in a difficult economy is the reason that lawmakers should not approve the bill: It would put Connecticut at a disadvantage and cost the jobs of some of the very workers it is intended to help, they said.

The state's leading business lobbying group, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, has said the bill "would cost employers in dollars and productivity — a tough one-two punch in this weakening economy."

Various political blogs have started to chime in, including My Left Nutmeg here.  My prior coverage of the bill can be found here.

UPDATE: You can also find the CT News Junkie coverage of the bill here.

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