February 28, 2025
Care should be at the heart of our healthcare system and workplaces. But too often, these systems are set up in ways that undermine the well-being of patients and workers. Truly caring for all Marylanders means ensuring adequate staffing in nursing homes, hospitals, and home care, and paying care workers good wages, for the well-being of both those receiving and providing healthcare. It means ensuring that workers can care for their own health or that of a loved one without worrying about losing their paycheck. Together with members of the Caring Across Maryland coalition, our Workplace Justice Project is advocating for policies that bolster jobs for care workers, increase access to care, and improve transparency. With the Time to Care coalition, we are opposing efforts that would delay implementation of Maryland’s paid family and medical leave program. Here’s what we’re working on this year in the Maryland General Assembly:
Sponsors: Delegate Ashanti Martinez and Senator James Rosapepe
Many nursing homes face critical staffing shortages, leading to high staff turnover and impacting quality of care. But there is little transparency into, and oversight over, nursing home spending. This bill will improve nursing homes’ fiscal transparency and lay the foundation to ensure that a fair percentage of nursing home revenue is spent on workers’ wages.
Sponsors: Delegate Ashanti Martinez and Senator Benjamin Kramer
It is estimated that Maryland has the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the country. This legislation will raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and improve data collection, lending insight into Maryland residents’ Alzheimer’s incidences and outcomes.
Sponsors: Delegate Jennifer White Holland and Senator Malcolm Augustine
Maryland hospitals face critical staffing shortages. This legislation will establish safe staffing committees at each hospital that will address concerns about unsafe staff to patient ratios.
Sponsors: Delegate Heather Bagnall and Senator Dawn Gile
While the demand for home care is high, home care workers receive very low wages. This legislation will establish an Interested Parties Advisory Group (IPAG) that will provide recommendations for provider reimbursement rates for home and community-based services. The IPAG, led by the Department of Health, should include workers, consumers, community service providers, and State Medicaid officials.
Sponsor: Delegate Terri Hill
Many in Maryland struggle to find home care workers who meet their needs. This legislation creates the Home Care Search and Match Tool to enable consumers to find workers who speak their language, have the right certifications, and are available when needed.
All of us need time to care—for new babies, aging parents, loved ones with serious health needs or disabilities, and/or ourselves. Yet since the enactment of the Time to Care Act in 2022, Maryland has delayed implementing the paid family and medical leave program twice. And now Governor Moore’s administration is seeking an additional 18-month delay. We are opposing the delay in implementation of the FAMLI program. Without paid family and medical leave, workers will be forced to continue making excruciating choices between caring for their own health or that of a loved one and keeping their paycheck.
Further delay of the FAMLI implementation timeline would continue to deny working families the financial support they need in critical moments and have ripple effects on the economy. Delay would exacerbate existing inequities, as women of color are far more likely to be in jobs that lack employer-provided paid leave due to the legacy of occupational segregation and have to take unpaid leave or forgo needed time off. Implementing the FAMLI program promptly would help build economic security for all covered workers, but especially for workers of color. In addition, delaying implementation would stall the positive impacts of the program on businesses and the economy, such as reduced employee turnover; increased employee engagement, productivity, and morale; a level playing field for small businesses that otherwise couldn’t afford to provide paid leave; and reduced reliance on safety net programs. Family and medical emergencies do not wait for a convenient timeline and Maryland must not wait any longer to get the FAMLI program up and running. Tell your legislators: no more delays!
