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For Immediate Release
CONNECTICUT COMPANIES GENEROUS WITH PAID TIME OFF FOR EMPLOYEES New survey finds mandated sick time would negatively affect businesses
According to a new Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) Time Off Survey, employers are generous with paid time off for their employees, they are advocates of employee wellness programs, and they believe it is important for workers to take time off for their own well-being. However, businesspeople are strongly opposed to mandated sick time. They say any effort by the legislature to require specific paid time off would negatively affect their company's productivity levels, their financial situation and their ability to remain competitive. "A one-size-fits-all policy doesn't work for everyone. Companies need flexibility to determine which time-off policies work best for their workforce some companies just can't afford to provide the same level of benefits as other companies, said Joseph F. Brennan, CBIA senior vice president of public policy. For several years now, legislators have considered proposals that would require employers to carry over unused vacation time or pay a lump sum for the unused time at the end of the year and require them to give employees a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked. By a ratio of 24-to-1, business respondents said mandating paid sick leave would negatively impact their companies. For many businesses including those that rely on a part-time or seasonal workforce, paid time off mandates would be detrimental to their operation and productivity. "It would add to administrative costs as well as labor costs," said Christel Brooks, HR director, Tyler Technologies Inc., in Tolland. "Employers already have to offer competitive benefits and salaries to get and retain a good workforce. This is not an area for legislation. We already have employees in a number of other states. If Connecticut law becomes too unfriendly to business, any company has the option to consolidate to offices outside Connecticut. "The legislature's Labor Committee continues to advance proposals that would make it much harder and more costly to do business in Connecticut, especially during difficult economic times, said Brennan. "These proposals would weaken employers' ability to manage their employees and operations most effectively, and make them less competitive in today's marketplace. Legislation for paid-time-off mandates is not necessary because businesses already offer many of these benefits. According to the CBIA survey, more than half (60 percent) of respondents allow workers to carry-over or be paid for their unused sick days at the end of the year. Besides the financial hardships, mandating that employers make lump-sum payments for unused sick time and vacation would lead to other problems, because it would encourage workers not to take time off. Steven Pretto, vice president of operations at Goldenrod Corp., in Beacon Falls , says employees need to Pretto added that the burden on employers caused by rollovers would be devastating. He said an employee with three weeks' vacation who only uses one week in 2008 would then have five weeks in 2009. "How will a company operate with a key employee not available for over a month in one year? If there are several employees doing the same thing, the company could have serious problems, he said. According to the survey, the majority of employers (69 percent) offer paid sick leave to their employees, and 79 percent say the length of service doesn't affect the number of sick days given to workers. More than a third of respondents said they offer their employees 56 or more hours of sick time during their first year of employment. After two years, 31 percent of employers offer 80 or more sick hours. Twenty-nine percent of respondents give workers sick leave immediately upon hire. Fourteen percent offer the benefit within the first 90 days and 57 percent offer paid sick leave after 90 days on the job. Almost half (47 percent) give from one to five sick and/or personal days. Another 22 percent give six to nine sick and/or personal days, and 15 percent give 10 or more days. When it comes to paid holidays, almost all Connecticut employers (97 percent) give the following six days off, and some give more:
More than half of employers (54 percent) give their employees paid holidays off immediately upon hire. And more than 70 percent of employers give their employees eight paid holidays off. "Legislators must reject bills that would make it harder to operate a business in the state. Instead they should focus on the health of Connecticut 's economy and its ability to create and retain good jobs. They should call for new efforts to stimulate economic growth and job creation, said Brennan. The survey was e-mailed in January to 1,886 companies. A total of 326 surveys were returned for a 17 percent response rate. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percent. CBIA is the state's largest business organization, with 10,000 members. ### For more information contact Nancy Andrews, CBIA media relations manager, at 860-244-1957 or andrewsn@cbia.com. 350 Church
Street · Hartford, CT 06103-1126 · cbia.com/newsroom
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