The substitute paid sick days measure Governor Hogan introduced yesterday is unacceptable. It covers too few workers, phases in too slowly, and the waiver it contains constitutes a huge and unacceptable loophole that would weaken it even further. It would do nothing for too many of the 700,000 workers in Maryland who do not currently have any paid sick days they can use to care for themselves or their children when they get sick.
 
Governor Hogan’s veto of the popular and badly needed Healthy Working Families Act last May betrayed working families. It is truly disappointing that he is compounding his error by using discredited arguments about the bill’s potential impact on jobs and small businesses, and that he is proposing tax credits as part of his solution, which is the wrong approach.
 
The Healthy Working Families Act is based on rock-solid approaches to providing paid sick days that have been proven successful in cities and states all across the country. It is the right solution for Maryland.
 
Maryland moms, workers, families and communities need the Healthy Working Families Act. MomsRising is proud to be part of the Working Matters coalition, which has led the charge for paid sick days in the state for five years. We will work tirelessly to ensure that the state legislature overrides the Governor’s outrageous veto early next year, so the Healthy Working Families Act becomes law. What he proposed yesterday is a poor, unacceptable substitute for the robust paid sick days measure the state legislature supports and Marylanders need.

***

Reporters: View this as a statement in our newsroom.