WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is urging businesses and governments to deny sick leave to workers who fall ill with Covid-19.
While negotiating the annual Epidemic Assistance Bill, Congress is trying to block the expansion of a paid sick leave program for people receiving COVID, which ends in two weeks, according to multiple Hill sources with knowledge of McConnell negotiations.
Last March, Congress passed a law that would allow employees to be entitled to two weeks of paid sick leave if contracted, two weeks of paid sick leave related care, and up to 10 weeks of paid family care. For a child whose school or daycare is closed for COVID-related reasons.
Those provisions are set to expire at the end of the year. Democrats initially sought to expand and expand the program. Because of Republican opposition, those goals were reduced to just a few months to extend the program, according to a Senate aide. Now Republicans, led by McConnell, are totally opposed to the expansion of the program.
Paid sick leave was already provided to exempt large industries. Any company with more than 500 employees does not fall under the requirement for paid leave.
The Democratic aide said about the March talks that the Republicans had the leeway given by the Democrats.
Businesses with less than 50 employees can also apply for the required exemption. The federal government is following a bill for the full cost of leave paid to businesses through refundable tax credits.
But state and local governments are not eligible for a tax credit and they must bear the cost of sick leave themselves. Sen., a powerful Republican chairman of the Senate Health Committee. Lamar Alexander said this is the only reason they oppose the expansion of the program.
“Paid sick leave is a good idea. We do it in my office fees, the federal government does it now, and many businesses do. Unfortunately, current paid leave proposals impose billions of dollars on state and local governments in unrestricted orders, ”Alexander told BuzzFeed News. “If the federal government needs paid leave, the federal government should pay for it.”
However, the federal government cannot pay for it, as Republicans are also engaged in being included in bills for state and local governments. This funding was one of the main demands of the democratic negotiators. But with the Republican proposal for immunity from COVID lawsuits for businesses, it dropped out of the package, as these were seen as the two most contentious negotiating issues.
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The paid sick leave requirement is estimated at $ 105 billion, but by the end of October, businesses had claimed only 1. 3.3 billion in tax credits, according to a health study. The study found that paid sick leave reduced the prevalence of COVID and that the four- to six-month expansion would be estimated at 8 8 billion to 13 13 billion. That’s a fraction of the overall COVID bill, which is expected to reach about 900 900 billion.
There is no reason and no excuse for failing to prolong life saving and bilateral paid leave policy already on the books. Senate Health Committee Ranking Democrat Sen. “Anything less will not make sense and could be a disaster for millions of workers,” said Patti Murray.
McConnell’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Negotiations are expected to continue over the weekend.
