HB 596 — Healthy Families and Workplaces/Paid Sick Days.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA H.B.SESSION 2021 H 1 HOUSE BILL 596 Short Title:

596 Apr 19, 2021 SESSION 2021 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK H D HOUSE BILL DRH30237-LR-51 Short Title:

RepresentativeRepresentatives Fisher.Fisher, K.

Smith, Harrison, and Brown (Primary Sponsors).

For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House April 20, 2021 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT PROVIDING FOR HEALTHY FAMILIES AND HEALTHY WORKPLACES BY ENSURING THAT ALL WORKERS HAVE EARNED PAID SICK DAYS TO ADDRESS THEIR OWN HEALTH NEEDS AND THE HEALTH NEEDS OF THEIR FAMILIES.

and *DRH30237-LR-51**H596-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 Whereas, low-income workers are significantly less likely to have earned paid sick days, with 60% of those earning less than $20,000 per year lacking access to earned paid sick days;

Chapter 95 of the General Statutes is amended bybyadding adding a new Article to read:

Page 2 DRH30237-LR-51House Bill 596-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (12) Small business.

(3) Absence necessary due to circumstances resulting from the employee, or a family member of the employee, being a victim of stalking or domestic or sexual violence, if the leave is to allow the employee to obtain for the employee or the family member (i) medical attention needed to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by stalking or domestic or sexual violence, (ii) services from a designated domestic violence agency or other victim services organization, (iii) psychological or other counseling, (iv) relocation, or (v) legal services, including obtaining a restraining order or preparing for, orparticipatingin, anycivil or criminal legal proceedingproceedingrelated related to the stalking or domestic or sexual violence.

DRH30237-LR-51House Bill 596-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (b) An employer may require certification of the qualifying illness, injury, health condition,orviolencewhenapaidsicktimeperiodcoversmorethanthreeconsecutiveworkdays.

Any reasonable documentation signed bybya a health care provider involved in following or treating the illness, injury, or health condition and indicating the need for the amount of sick days taken shall be deemed acceptable certification.

Acceptable certification of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking maymayinclude include (i) law enforcement, court, or federal agency records or files, (ii) documentation from a domestic violence or sexual assault program, or (iii) documentation from a religious, medical, or other professional from whom assistance was sought in dealing with the alleged domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an employee to provide as certification any information from a health care provider that would be in violation of section 1177 of the Social Security Act or the regulations promulgatedpursuantto section264(c)oftheHealthInsurancePortabilityandsection264(c)oftheHealth InsurancePortabilityand Accountability Act, 42 U.S.C.

(g) This act provides minimum requirements pertaining to paid sick time and shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, agreement, or standard that provides for greater accrual or use bybyemployees employees of sick time, whether paid or unpaid, or that extends other protections to employees.

(h) Employers who have a paid time-off leave policy shall not be required to modify that policy, if that policypolicyoffers offers an employee the option, at the employee's discretion, to take paid sick time that is at least equivalent to the amounts and for the same purposes and under the same conditions as provided under this section.

Page 4 DRH30237-LR-51House Bill 596-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 "§ 95-31.6.

EmployersEmployersshall shall givenotice(i)thatemployees are entitledto paid sicktime,(ii)oftheamount ofpaid sicktimeand theterms ofits useguaranteedunderthis section,section,(iii)thatretaliation (iii) that retaliation against employees who request or use paid sick time is prohibited, and (iv) that each employee has the right to file a complaint with the Commissioner of Labor or in the General Court of Justice if paid sick time as required by this Article is denied by the employer or the employee is retaliated against for requesting or taking paid sick time.

(d) In addition to theamounts awardedpursuant totosubsection(c) subsection (c) ofthis section, thecourt shall award liquidated damages in an amount equal to the amount found to be due as provided in subsection (c) of this section, provided that if the employer shows to the satisfaction of the court that the act or omission constituting the violation was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation of this Article, the court may, in its discretion, award no liquidated damages or may award any amount of liquidated damages not exceeding the amount found due as provided in subsection (c) of this section.

DRH30237-LR-51House Bill 596-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (1) File a claim or complaint, initiate any inquiry, investigation, inspection, proceeding or other action, or testify or provide information to any person with respect to any of the following:

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