Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Employment Bills Heard this Week
Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Allyson Black and Employment Issues Committee Co-Chair Craig Ballew testified in opposition to legislation concerning shift breaks (HB 16, HB 651), employee misclassification (HB 819, HB 1070), and a number of other employment bills, during a marathon hearing of the House Economic Matters Committee yesterday.
The shift break legislation, if passed, would require employers of 50 or more employees to provide a half-hour nonworking shift break after six consecutive hours of work, or a fifteen minute nonworking shift break when an employee works between four and six consecutive hours. The Maryland Chamber believes this proposal is an unwarranted and unnecessary legislative intrusion into the employer-employee relationship. The legislation does not allow for flexibility in the workplace in situations where employees might be needed but are mandated to take a break.
“This bill would subject employers who could not provide shift breaks on account of emergencies to civil lawsuits and damages,” Black said. “Similarly, the bill restricts employers and employees from agreeing to work and break schedules that best suit their business and personal needs.”
Read the full position statement for HB16 here, and HB 651 here.
Also presented at the public hearing were two version of the employee misclassification legislation (HB 819 and HB 1070). These bills were introduced to prohibit employers from misclassifying employees as independent contractors and increase fines and penalties for employers who intentionally misclassify employees and independent contractors.
The Maryland Chamber condemns companies that knowingly misclassify individuals as independent contractors, but the Chamber also believes new laws to address the issue is unnecessary due to provisions already in statute that give the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation regulatory authority to address intentional misclassification of employees.
The Maryland Chamber opposes both bills; however, this is one of the Governor’s legislative priorities, so action is likely. The Maryland Chamber will continue to review amendments offered and work with the sponsors and proponents of the bills to address concerns of the business community.
While the Chamber believes that new laws to address this issue are unnecessary, we feel HB 1070 would be the better alternative. This bill contains provisions that the Chamber supports, such as the rebuttable presumption that misclassification did not occur if the employer enters into a written contract signed by the individual or sole proprietor and employer, expressing the worker is an independent contractor—not an employee.
Read the full position statement for HB 819 here, and 1070 here.
If you have any questions, contact Allyson Black at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
