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Members of an Iowa House committee have been debating a proposed piece of legislation that would mandate the amount of sick leave that employers give their workers. Jim Van Engelenhoven of Pella says the bill originated in the Senate and has come under scrutiny by several Iowa lawmakers. The proposed legislation would affect employees who work 20 hours or more per week and could mandate up to 18 days of sick leave per year.

“I think there’s a lot of concern out there and it would have a very negative impact on a lot of small businesses especially,” said Van Engelenhoven. “I think this is probably something where if people are sick their employers grant them sick leave, because in this day and age, it has to be a part of your total benefit package, probably. I think before we mandate something like this, we’d better take a very serious look at this and leave it up to the employers.”

Jim Van Engelenhoven is a Republican, representing District 71 in the Iowa House; which includes the majority of Marion County and the Monroe area.