SB-601 in state Senate:
Paid sick leave mandate will push benefits costs even higher
(May 25, 2007) Lawmakers in the state Senate are nearing a decision on a proposal that will require all employers of 25 or more employees to provide all of their hourly and non-exempt employees — including part-time, temporary and seasonal workers — a paid sick leave benefit.
SB-601 requires employers to provide paid sick leave in increments of one hour for every 40 hours worked, with unlimited and indefinite carry-over into succeeding years.
Businesses recognize SB-601 for what it really is — an additional government mandate that will push their already nearly unaffordable benefit costs even higher.
If enacted, SB-601will actually jeopardize the ability of Connecticut employers – especially smaller businesses — to create or even maintain critically needed jobs with good benefits.
Many Connecticut employers already provide their employees, even part-timers, with sick leave and other paid time off benefits, as well as short-term and long-term disability programs in the event of an employee’s serious health condition.
But as one employer said, under SB-601 they would have to “consider ending one or more of these programs to guard against the potential cost of a long-term employee building up weeks of unused sick leave, to the detriment of other employees.”
The comptroller of a manufacturing company added that “The cost of other benefits offered by most employers (paid vacation time off, medical insurance, etc.) is already more than many smaller companies can afford, and the benefits required under SB-601 would further endanger the profitability or possibly even the mere existence of many of Connecticut’s smaller employers.”
Details of the bill
SB-601 will place significant financial and administrative burdens on Connecticut businesses because it:
• Disregards the ability of Connecticut employers to afford it
• Includes full- and part-time, seasonal or temporary employees
• Requires employers to permit employees to carry-over unused sick time
• Provides great potential for employee abuse – essentially providing another “day off” every eight weeks
In addition, the original proposal mandated paid sick leave for employers of 15 or more employees, which means the ultimate intent is to make it applicable to most, if not all, employers in Connecticut.
“In a time when our customers ask that we maintain and reduce costs to them, [SB-601 makes] that an impossibility,” said the human resources director of a Connecticut manufacturer. “The additional costs will be added to our product and potentially cause the loss of business, due to the fact that our pricing is not competitive with companies outside of Connecticut.”
CBIA urges lawmakers to reject SB-601 as an unaffordable government mandate that will weaken the ability of employers to create and keep jobs in Connecticut. For more information, contact CBIA’s Kia Floyd at 860-244-1931 or floydk@cbia.com.
CBIA Action Center
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