Carpino Votes Against Controversial Anti-Business Legislation

HARTFORD — State Rep. Christie Carpino in a Judiciary Committee meeting today opposed controversial anti-business legislation that would make Connecticut the first state in the nation to require private sector employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. S.B. 913, An Act Mandating Employers Provide Paid Sick Leave to Employees, would require employers with 50 or more employees to provide paid sick leave to certain staffers for either their illnesses or those of a child, parent or spouse—or to deal with issues related to family violence or sexual assault. It would apply to part-time and full-time employees. The proposal, which has been shot down repeatedly through strong opposition from the business community, made it through the committee by a 21-15 vote.

Carpino said the bill represents yet another government mandate that will costs businesses money—an edict that would actually hurt working families by increasing the operating costs of small businesses that support them. What’s more, this proposal would make a business owner with 49 employees think twice about taking on another employee and the increased cost of doing business at the 50-employee threshold.

“The very mention of this proposal within this legislature paints an ugly picture for company executives who are thinking about moving to Connecticut and sends a shiver through a struggling community of small business owners trying to figure out if they have a future in a state they call home,” she said.

Carpino contends the paid sick leave proposal runs counter to Gov. Dannel Malloy’s repeated claim that Connecticut’s reputation as a state that’s unfriendly to business is in the rearview mirror.

“Connecticut can’t possibly be branded ‘open for business,’ as the governor claims, if we have legislators fighting for bills that employers have repeatedly said will hurt their chances of growing,” she said.