May 27, 2011

PAID SICK LEAVE OP-ED- NO JOB CURE

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In the legislature, we will soon be debating Mandatory Paid Sick Leave a costly job-killing mandate on businesses in Connecticut.

I have opposed this kind of legislation every year it has come before me due to the negative impact it would create on the Connecticut job market. I have had many residents email and call my office asking me to oppose this concept. Small business owners in Thomaston have said a mandatory paid sick leave law would force them to make tough decisions on whether they can keep the employees they currently have today.

The proponents of this legislation have attempted for the past three years to require employers to provide paid time off to employees but each time the proposal has failed under its own job-killing weight.

This measure mandates the amount, manner, and conditions by which employers with 50 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours (five days) of paid time off for a variety of reasons. Violators of the law would be subject to a civil penalty of $600 per violation.

In a March 3rd Editorial the Hartford Courant makes the case against Mandatory Paid Sick Leave by stated:

“All things considered then, it is a very bad time for the state to impose a costly new mandate on businesses that would put any job-creating momentum at risk.

Impose a new mandate? That’s like dumping a barrel of cold water on Mr. Malloy’s “Connecticut is open for business” campaign. We can’t imagine a more unwelcome signal to businesses considering expansion here or relocation to Connecticut.”

During the public hearing on the bill, their was testimony that many impacted employers have low profit margins, so for each dollar in revenue, only a few cents are made in profit–meaning there’s not a lot of leeway for added labor costs. This is especially true among employees earning the minimum, and could cause job loss among this vulnerable group.
If this law passes, Connecticut would be the first state in the nation to have such an onerous anti-business mandate and will continue to have its bad jobs reputation which has lead to businesses moving jobs out of Connecticut to more welcoming states.

Right now, 86% of Connecticut workers have access to paid leave benefits with their current employer. With Connecticut’s unemployment rate at 9%, is it right to put this additional mandate on employers at this time?

Once again, I will be voting no on Mandatory Paid Sick Leave and instead I will try to keep jobs in Connecticut that continue to flee our great state.