Bill Description: House Bill 641 would impose new regulations on companies that provide sick leave to their employees.
Rating: -2
NOTE: House Bill 641 is related to Senate Bill 1294 (2022); House Bill 177 (2021); and House Bill 475 (2020).
Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?
House Bill 641 would create Section 44-906, Idaho Code, to impose new regulations on companies that provide sick leave to their employees. Specifically, these companies would be forbidden to “count sick leave taken in accordance with the employer's written policy as an absence that may lead to or result in discipline or any other adverse employment action.”
While these requirements are most likely in line with most companies' existing policies and practices, they have the effect of limiting Idaho's “at-will” employment status.
The Idaho Department of Labor explains the existing standard: “Idaho is a ‘work at will’ state. This means there is no set length for an employment relationship and either the employer or the employee may end it at any time, with or without notice; with or without cause.”
Under the provisions of this law, an employer would be prohibited from using its discretion to end the employment relationship with an employee based on that person’s use of sick time.
(-1)
Does it violate the principles of federalism by increasing federal authority, yielding to federal blandishments, or incorporating changeable federal laws into Idaho statutes or rules? Examples include citing federal code without noting as it is written on a certain date, using state resources to enforce federal law, and refusing to support and uphold the tenth amendment. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the principles of federalism?
House Bill 641 includes a subsection that says, “Employers shall comply with applicable provisions of the federal family and medical leave act and the federal Americans with disabilities act.”
The state should not incorporate federal law by reference for two reasons. First, the state is not obligated to enforce federal law, but statutes like this effectively make it a state crime to violate a federal law. Second, incorporating federal law by reference subordinates state law to changeable federal statutes, which means that the federal government can effectively change state law without the Legislature's knowledge or consent.
(-1)
