Warren & Hays LLC

There has been a lot of buzz over the past couple of years about enacting new paid leave laws that would require employers to provide paid sick leave to their workforces.  The Obama administration has indicated it would like to pass some form of paid sick leave legislation in 2009.  But the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) — the largest HR organization in the world — is trying to change the dialogue.  

According to SHRM’s COO China Gorman, “SHRM is advocating a 21st Century workplace flexibility policy that meets the needs of today’s employers and employees.  SHRM believes that employers should be encouraged to provide paid leave without new federal rules and regulations.”  The idea is that employers who voluntarily choose to offer paid leave will be protected by a “safe harbor” that deems them in compliance with federal, state and local laws.  The federal policy SHRM advocates would (1) encourage employers to offer uniform and coordinated paid leave; (2) create administrative and compliance incentives for employers who meet the leave standard; (3) provide certainty, predicability and accountability for employers and employees; and (4) allow for different work environments, industries and organizational size.  

On June 11, 2009, Ms. Gorman testified before the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.  The response?  Too soon to tell, though expect SHRM to keep forging ahead in its cutting edge effort to replace costly leave laws with a more flexible, incentive-based approach.