For Immediate Release
Washington, DC – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) supports Maryland’s paid family and medical leave insurance program proposed in House Bill 839 (HB 839).
Today, ERIC expressed our support for lawmakers working on expanding access to critical paid family and medical leave benefits for Maryland residents. ERIC was especially pleased that HB 839 provides an exemption for employers that already provide generous paid family and medical leave benefits to their employees. The exemption is important to ERIC, as many of our member companies already design and provide substantial paid leave benefits for their employees.
“It is important that state lawmakers allow employers providing generous, voluntary benefits to continue to do so and that the requirements of any new programs do not negatively impact the benefits that their employees ultimately receive,” said Aliya Robinson, Senior Vice President of Retirement and Compensation Policy, ERIC.
While ERIC is supportive of HB 839, our testimony did include several asks to strengthen the proposed program, including:
- Adding a provision to preempt local paid leave ordinances
- Allowing employers participating in the state insurance program to deduct the full amount of contributions paid to the program from the wages paid to employees
- Amending the bill to be consistent with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), including changing the definition of a family member; limiting the duration of paid leave to be equal to the 12-week total standard; matching the employee eligibility standards to the 1250 hours worked requirement
“ERIC will continue to work with lawmakers in Maryland, and in other states, to ensure that any new paid leave programs do not add to the growing patchwork of policies across the nation. And, that employers can continue to provide the best benefits to their unique workforces,” said Robinson.