In a stinging defeat for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and a major victory for organized labor, the Maryland General Assembly decided on Thursday overrode the veto of a closely-watched bill that will force Wal-Mart to pay more in health benefits to its employees.The bill may not have named Wal-Mart specifically, but there are only 1 or 2 other employers in the state big enough to qualify, so this was clearly aimed at the company. Wal-Mart now has basically three choices (other than a lawsuit against the state): They can give up profits to satisfy the legislation, raise prices, or pull out of the state. The pols in Maryland apparently feel that their money is too important to Wal-Mart for the retailer to consider leaving, but they've been known to do stuff like that before.
The legislation apparently makes Maryland the first state in the nation to enact such a requirement, and was heavily lobbied by both business and labor. The bill was passed in last year's session of the Legislature and vetoed by Ehrlich, a Republican, in May. Since then, passage of the bill over the governor's veto has been a major priority of the Assembly's Democratic leaders and their labor allies.
The bill does not specifically target Wal-Mart. Known as the Fair Share Health Care Plan, it requires companies employing more than 10,000 people to spend at least eight percent of their payroll on health care benefits. Wal-Mart is the only company of that size in the state that does not already do so, though the giant retailer does offer health insurance to its employees.
How would the voters feel if the company suddenly announced that it was immediately closing all Maryland stores and throwing thousands of Marylanders out of jobs? Personally, I hope that's what they do. That's about the only way they can teach the politicians to stay out of their personnel matters.
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