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Committee rejects bill to mandate employer leave for legislators, citing business burdens

2255170 · February 10, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

House Bill 1495, which would have required employers to grant leave for employees serving in the legislative assembly with protections for pay and benefits, failed to advance after committee members and business groups warned of costs and staffing impacts; committee adopted a do-not-pass recommendation.

Representative Austin Foss introduced House Bill 1495 to require employers to grant leaves of absence and certain employment protections for members of the legislative assembly. Foss said the measure would protect citizen legislators—farmers, teachers and other working North Dakotans—and lower barriers to service by safeguarding employment rights similar to protections given to servicemembers.

Committee members and witnesses questioned the bill’s impacts on employers, especially small businesses and industries requiring specialized employees. Andrea…

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