H.B. 297 Summary

• Requires employers with five or more employees to provide employees working eight or more consecutive hours a meal break of at least thirty minutes, or a twenty-minute rest break for those working six to eight hours; allows employers and employees to negotiate break terms, including opting out.

• Establishes a new paid sick leave law requiring employees who work more than 680 hours annually to accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave per forty hours worked, with a maximum accrual of fifty-six hours per calendar year unless the employer provides a higher limit.

• Permits employees to use accrued paid sick leave for their own mental or physical illness, medical care, preventive care, care of a family member's health needs, or when the employee's workplace closes due to a public health emergency.

• Exempts employers from paid sick leave requirements if they already provide equivalent paid leave policies, pay more than minimum wage, or employ fewer than the specified minimum number of employees.

• Becomes effective July 1, 2021, with delayed implementation for employees covered by collective bargaining agreements until the agreement's termination, renewal, or amendment.