Mandating Paid Sick Leave
S.172 is identical to last session’s S.906. Each bill would mandate that all South Carolina employers provide earned paid sick leave to employees, and outlines what sick leave can be taken for and the rate at which earned sick leave will accrue. The bill would also entitle all full time state employees to 30 days sick leave a year; they are currently entitled to 15. While ensuring everyone has paid sick leave may seem like a noble goal, this policy will serve to increase the cost of employees for employers who don’t already offer sick leave. The unintended effect of this policy then will be to cause some employers to either hire fewer employees (reducing employment opportunities) or to pass on this new cost on to employees by reducing other forms of compensation.
As for the public employee component of the bill, the state is less likely to decrease pay or cut back hiring because it must give out increased benefits. This is because the state doesn’t have to worry about profitability or providing optimal service. An increase in state employee compensation in the form of sick leave simply means that tax dollars are more likely to go towards paying state employees who aren’t actually working.
(Related H.3397)