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2023 SESSION

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HB 1988 Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.

Introduced by: Elizabeth R. Guzman | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties. Expands provisions of the Code that currently provide paid sick leave for home health workers to cover all employees of private employers and state and local governments. The bill provides that accrued paid sick leave can be carried over to the following year and that employees transferred to a separate division or location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave. The bill provides that paid sick leave may be used for the closure of an employee's place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, for an employee's need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed due to a public health emergency, or for an employee to care for himself or a family member who has been exposed to a communicable disease. The bill requires each employer to provide its employees a written notice of its paid sick leave policy at the commencement of employment and prohibits an employer from taking retaliatory personnel action against an employee for exercising the rights provided in the bill.

The bill authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation. The Commissioner may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with the provisions of this bill and to collect specified amounts from the employer that shall be awarded to the employee. Alternatively, an aggrieved employee is authorized to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024.


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