Democratic lawmakers push for more pay, paid sick leave for NC workers

North Carolina lawmakers fighting for higher employee wages pushed for new state laws on Tuesday at the General Assembly.

2025-03-25

The bills would raise the minimum wage, enact policies for paid sick leave and paid maternity leave, and more. The proposals, backed by Democrats, are unlikely to be allowed a vote in the Republican-controlled legislature.

“In a society that is so well-resourced, it is outrageous that we don’t provide paid leave for individuals and that is something that absolutely needs to change,” Sen. Sydney Batch, D-Wake, a sponsor of the NC Paid Family Leave Insurance Act (Senate Bill 480) said during a press conference Tuesday at the state legislative building.

The United States is among a small number of countries anywhere in the world that don’t require employers to offer paid sick leave or paid maternity leave. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of U.S. workers aren’t given paid sick leave, and 73% of workers lack paid family leave.

Other Democrats in the legislature have pushed bills this session that aim to boost pay and benefits for workers in the state. House Bill 339 and Senate Bill 326 seek to raise the minimum wage in North Carolina to $22 an hour. Similar bills like House Bill 353, which sponsors call the Fair Minimum Wage Act have also been floated by Democrats.

“The people of North Carolina work hard and put their all into everything that they do,” Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-Chatham, Durham), a sponsor of the Senate wage bill, said during a news conference on Tuesday. “They deserve to be paid every single dime that they are worth. They are worth more than what they are getting today.”

The Democratic lawmakers pushed the bills as part of a lobbying day for worker advocates. Lawmakers held news conferences on the initiatives — a tactic to highlight their proposals, which are unlikely to receive a hearing because Republicans hold strong majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly and therefore decide which bills advance.

The bills come at a time when the state's workforce faces economic uncertainty and no guarantees around paid sick days. North Carolina employers are not required by law to give mandatory wage benefits such as vacation pay, sick leave, jury duty pay, and holiday pay to employees.

"If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a hundred times,” Batch said. “There are so many families who are struggling with regards with just being able to make ends meet. Most of them are living paycheck–to-paycheck and they don’t have the ability to take any leave.”