LANSING — Negotiations were still ongoing over a response to upcoming sick time policy changes as of Wednesday afternoon. Lawmakers remain disconnected on several issues, according to House Speaker Matt Hall.
“I’d like to protect small business, ensure that we do something about the no-show and the no-call issue, stop the frivolous lawsuits, protect seasonal workers and make sure that we can front load the policies,” Hall, (R) 42nd District, said Wednesday.
Any legislative response would need to pass through the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate by Friday to avoid the current policies from taking effect.
Lawmakers are optimistic that they’ll be able to reach a compromise by then.
“I think we can get a good deal in place that will save our small businesses a lot of headaches and protect a lot of workers,” Hall said.
In its current form, the sick time law entitles workers to one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked. Small business employees would be allowed to take 40 hours paid and 32 hours unpaid per year, while large business workers would be allowed to use 72 hours paid.
The Democratic plan would bump the small business designation from less than 10 to less than 25 employees, while the Republican plan would entirely exempt workers as businesses with less than 50 employees.
The Democratic plan also counts all employees in that figure, including part-time and temporary workers. The Republican proposal wouldn’t grant sick time to an employee working less than 25 weeks a year or less than 25 hours a week.
Lawmakers plan to amend the proposals before final passage, meaning the specifics of the policies may change from the Republican and Democratic plan.
Some House Democrats, a majority of whom voted against the interventions, say that the Republican proposals would cause some workers to avoid preventative care.
“Five years down the road, we all as taxpayers pay for low value healthcare when those folks show up at emergency departments for high-cost, preventable illnesses that could have been dealt with up front if those folks knew that they wouldn’t lose their job for taking care of themselves,” said Rep. Matt Longjohn, (D) 40th District.
As things stand, Republicans have more sway over what the final proposals may look like. Even with full Democratic support, the plan would require approval from about half of Senate Republicans to go into effect immediately.
And that’s before likely defections from some Democratic senators. The tipped wage bill advanced last week passed with a majority of Democrats against it, only moving forward due to support from Republicans and Democratic leadership.
The final plan also needs approval from Hall and the Republican-controlled House.
“We want every Michigan worker to have time off when they’re safe, to care for themselves and their family,” Hall said. “We also want them to have a job. We want to keep small businesses open, and we want to keep our restaurant industry afloat.
While a sick time deal remained out of reach as of Wednesday afternoon, the House passed a bipartisan tipped wage response 69-40, sending the bill to Gov. Whitmer’s desk.