Letter to Chairman Davis - Labor and Employment, Maryland Healthy Working Families Act

Letter

Dear Chairman Davis,

I am writing to express my strong support for the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (HB 580). I commend Delegate Luke Clippinger and the bill's cosponsors for their leadership on this critical measure for working families and public health.

Far too many Marylanders lack access to earned paid sick leave, which forces them to make impossible choices between going to work ill or scrambling to find child care for an ill child, or missing a day's pay. And far too many workers without earned paid sick leave are low-wage workers, making the loss of even a day or two of work a serious hardship.

I've cosponsored the federal Healthy Families Act and included earned paid sick leave in Democratic budgets I've authored and in my Action Plan to Grow the Paychecks of All, Not Just the Wealthy Few. I strongly support the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (HB 580), introduced by Delegate Luke Clippinger. This bill allows workers to earn up to seven paid sick days per year to use to recover from illness, care for a sick child, or seek assistance for domestic violence or sexual assault.

Maryland workers shouldn't have to risk their economic security to recover from the flu, nurse a child through a stomach bug, or secure their own safety. The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act is a fair way to allow workers to earn a needed benefit and improve productivity. I thank you for your consideration of this important issue, and strongly urge a favorable report.

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