Proposed Paid Leave Mandate Adds Administrative and Fiscal Strain for Counties

On January 27, Associate Policy Director Karrington Anderson submitted written testimony to the Government, Labor, and Elections Committee in opposition to HB 86 – State and Local Employees – Cancer Screening – Paid Leave. This bill would mandate that state and local governments, as public employers, provide four hours of paid cancer screening leave, separate from any existing leave policies. Under current law and county practice, cancer screening is an allowable and appropriate use of accrued sick leave or sick and safe leave. Mandating a separate leave category creates redundancy while imposing new fiscal and operational pressures on local governments. From MACo Testimony:Counties strongly support policies that promote employee health and early detection of serious illnesses, including cancer screening.