Thanks to recent laws championed by UFCW Local 400 and our allies, if you work in Maryland or Washington, D.C., you can take paid time off if you or a loved one get sick.
These laws were passed before the current Coronavirus pandemic and we are demanding every employer we represent provide even greater, more enhanced sick leave policies in the midst of the outbreak.
In the meantime, we want to make sure you know your rights under current law. We will update this list if any new emergency measures are passed by local authorities.
Unfortunately, Virginia and West Virginia legislatures have been controlled by legislators who strongly oppose providing paid sick leave to employees, so there are no statutory requirements to provide paid sick days beyond what is in your contract.
If you have a question about how these laws apply under your current union contract, or if you have been denied access to sick leave, please contact us immediately. Our union representatives are still available over the phone during regular business hours. Please do not hesitate to call our headquarters at 301-459-3400 (Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.). You can also contact us through our website and a union representative will follow up with you.
Maryland
The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act became law on January 12, 2018 after years of advocacy from UFCW Local 400 and our allies.
If your employer has 15 or more employees and you work 12 or more hours per week, you earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work, and you can earn up to 40 hours a year. Unused leave can be carried over into subsequent years, so long as total paid leave does not exceed 64 hours.
You can use your paid sick leave to:
- stay home when you get sick
- go to a doctor’s appointment
- take care of a sick family member
- get services for domestic violence or sexual abuse
Learn more about the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act here.
Montgomery County, Maryland
Thanks to the Earned Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2015, a new law championed by UFCW Local 400 and our allies, if you work at Giant or Safeway in Montgomery County, you can take paid time off if you or a loved one get sick.
This more generous law goes above and beyond the statewide Healthy Working Families Act and applies to anyone who works in Montgomery County.
As a UFCW Local 400 member working at Giant or Safeway in Montgomery County (or any employer with more than five employees), you earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work, and you can earn up to 56 hours a year.
You can use your paid sick leave to:
- stay home when you get sick
- go to a doctor’s appointment
- take care of a sick family member
- get services for domestic violence or sexual abuse
- Receive pay when your place of business or your family member’s school or child care center has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency;
- Care for a family member if a health official or health care provider determined the family member’s presence in the community, due to exposure to a communicable disease, would jeopardize the health of others;
If you take paid sick and safe leave, you must be paid at the same rate and with the same benefits as you normally earn.
You can learn more about the Earned Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2015 here.
Washington, D.C.
Thanks to a law championed by UFCW Local 400 and our allies, if you work in the District of Columbia, you can take paid time off if you or a loved one get sick.
Under the D.C. Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, if you work for a company with 100 or more employees, you earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 37 hours you’ve worked, and you can earn up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.
You can use your paid sick leave to:
- stay home when you get sick
- go to a doctor’s appointment
- take care of a sick family member
- get services for domestic violence or sexual abuse
You can learn more about the DC Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act here.