Bill Description: House Bill 177 places new mandates and regulations on employers, specifically, their sick leave policies.

Rating: -2

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 177 creates Section 44-906, Idaho Code, which places several new mandates and regulations on employers and their sick leave policies.

The bill says, "It shall be unlawful for an employer that offers sick leave to its employees" to "count earned or accrued sick leave taken in accordance with the employer's written sick leave policy as an absence that results in discipline or any other adverse action."

It also makes it unlawful to "restrict an employee from using earned or accrued sick leave for the employee's illness, injury, health condition, or need for medical diagnosis."

(-1)

Does it transfer a function of the private sector to the government? Examples include government ownership or control of any providers of goods or services such as the Land Board’s purchase of a self-storage facility, mandatory emissions testing, or pre-kindergarten. Conversely, does it eliminate a function of government or return a function of government to the private sector?

In addition to creating new regulations on employers, House Bill 177 attempts to micromanage the contracts between employers and employees. This bill prevents employees from agreeing to terms they might find acceptable in exchange for certain wages or other considerations. The specifics of agreements between employers and employees should be determined by the private sector, not by the state.

(-1)