COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland on Friday, Aug. 1, reached out to businesses terrified by the possibility of state-mandated paid sick days for employees by outlining a plan that would help them guard against potential employee abuse of time off.

Strickland continues to push for a compromise to keep the proposed Healthy Families Act off the November ballot, but time is running out. The proposal would require businesses with 25 or more employees to give full-time workers at least seven paid sick days each year.

Supporters of the sick-day mandate, including the Service Employees International Union, will turn in signatures by Aug. 6 to attempt to place the issue before voters. Strickland, who has concerns about the act's impact on Ohio businesses, has said he will continue trying to forge a compromise until Sept. 5, the deadline for pulling issues off the ballot.

The legislature would have to approve any compromise before that date, but no session days are scheduled.

In the framework Strickland released Friday, many details remain up for negotiation, including the amount of sick time employees would receive. The proposed compromise would give employees hours of time, not days, because of business concerns that "days" was too vague.

The governor takes the side of business on a number of issues related to protecting against abuse of the sick-day policy.

Complicating Strickland's efforts at a compromise is a divided response from businesses around the state. Some businesses enthusiastically responded to Strickland's entreaty that they work with the governor's office to reach a compromise.

Others, however, felt that a compromise would essentially be handing supporters of the sick-day policy a victory without forcing them to get the necessary votes on the November ballot.

David Zanotti, president and chief executive of the conservative-leaning public policy organization Ohio Roundtable, criticized both the sick-day policy and Strickland for attempting to negotiate out of the public spotlight with 500 businesses he selected. He said Strickland has reservations about the policy and should therefore join the attempt to defeat it on the ballot.

John Popa, president and chief executive of Marlite, Inc., in Dover, told the governor's office in an e-mail that the Healthy Families Act is the worst business proposal he's seen in his career, and would likely force him to transfer production to plants outside Ohio. But he believes it's best to tackle the issue now before it gets on the ballot.

Dale Butland, a spokesman for the coalition promoting the Healthy Families Act, said the coalition appreciates the governor's efforts for a compromise and is willing to work with him.