Maryland Fair Share Bill Impacts Wal-Mart

Maryland’s legislative branch overrode Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich’s veto to pass a bill that would require companies with more than 10,000 employees in the state to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on health benefits, or pay the balance into a state low-income health insurance fund. Four companies – Northrop Grumman, Giant Foods, Johns Hopkins University, and Wal-Mart, have this many employees in Maryland, but only Wal-Mart fails to spend at least 8 percent on healthcare. Burt Flickinger, an independent retail analyst, thinks the Maryland bill could have “massive” implications for the world’s largest retailer. At least 13 other states proposed similar “Pay or Play” bills in the past year, and the measure is still alive in New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington, reports Parija Bhatnagar for CNNMoney.com.