Ohio Healthy Families Act

Irie

Does anyone know if, under the OHFA, a company has a PTO policy that is currently in place which requires employees to use all PTO prior to taking time off without pay, when this new Act passes can the emloyer still require the employee to use all PTO prior to taking time off without pay?

Under the Act you are permitted to carry over seven unused OHFA days per year and the employer cannot make you take these days (unless you are on approved FMLA then the employer can designate FMLA leave as OHFA).

I'm wondering how it will affect an employer's policy about exhausting all PTO and I haven't seen this addressed. Can anyone shed some light on this point? Thanks and I'm dreading this passing in November.

Also, any comments from you Ohio employers about this? I haven't seen a discussion about this on the Forum.

dbutton111

They have removed this from the ballot.

Nevada HR

Ohio Foreshadows Battle Over Paid Sick Leave in 2009

Remember how Senator Barack Obama mentioned “paid sick leave” in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention? Well, proponents of paid leave may be plotting strategy already … and the election is still nearly nine weeks away!

On Thursday, September 4, the Coalition for Healthy Families, which strongly supports paid sick leave, announced it will request that a referendum on “paid sick leave” be removed from the November state ballot in Ohio. Why? It appears that the Coalition doesn’t want a bitter debate over paid leave in Ohio to adversely affect Obama’s campaign in the state - or to hurt the chances of a possible paid leave proposal at the federal level in 2009.


Becky Williams, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199, which has backed the Ohio referendum, said the decision to withdraw the ballot initiative “was not easy, nor made lightly.” She said it was made after “it became clear that a shrill and vitriolic ballot campaign marred by misinformation and disinformation would be impossible to avoid.”

The referendum, if approved, would have required Ohio employers with 25 or more workers to provide seven days of paid sick leave.

In announcing this development to fellow SHRM members in the state, Ohio State Council legislative director Shannon Burt noted, “While this is a huge win for HR professionals, Ohio businesses, and our economy – it does not necessarily mean the issue is dead. Rather, it will shift to a larger battleground on the federal level.”

During his acceptance speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, presidential nominee Obama pledged, “Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.”