Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Chamber Opposes Shift Break Bill
The Senate Finance Committee and House Economic Matters heard shift break bills March 10. The bills, SB 789/HB 1299 would require that retail businesses with 50 or more employees to provide a 15-minute break for employees who work between four and six consecutive hours and a 30-minute break for employees who work more than 6 consecutive hours. The Maryland Chamber opposes this legislation.
While well intentioned, there are a number of problems with the legislation as currently drafted. Employers understand the importance of providing employees with reasonable break periods. The bills restrict employers and employees from mutually agreeing to work and break schedules that best suit their business and personal needs. The bills would not allow employers the flexibility sometimes needed to deal with emergencies that could require an employee to work for longer than six consecutive hours without a break.
The legislation would also create a private right of action for employees to file civil action against an employer. It does not take into account the probability of frivolous or bad faith claims filed by disgruntled employees, and it does not provide a mechanism for an employer to recover costs incurred by such claims. The legislation would also increase administrative burdens for employers and create equity issues for multi-state corporations with employees in different states.
We will post more information from the hearings later this week. For more information, contact Allyson Black at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
