Labor: Job Taxes, Same Old Approaches

One of the best ways to create and keep good jobs in Connecticut is to make sure we’re on a level playing field with competitor states.
The problem is, some state lawmakers are trying to tip the field again–but not in our favor.
Employers here provide some of the best wages, benefits, and conditions in the US, and we’ll never be a low-cost state. But we also shouldn’t be doing things that will put jobs out of reach–or out of Connecticut.
Many proposals this year go down the same old and costly road of micromanaging Connecticut workplaces, and making it too expensive or too difficult to do business in the state.
Mandatory Paid Leave: HB 6932 creates a program mandating employees to pay into a system that will allow them to take up to 12 weeks per year of paid family or medical leave. It requires businesses to continue providing non-wage benefits, and taxpayers to fund the program’s overhead. This will move CT down by adding to the cost of running state government and making running a business in Connecticut even more expensive.
Immigration: SB 106 assumes employers are guilty of retaliation in any immigration-related action involving an employee within 90 days of the worker exercising any labor right. Employers will have to prove themselves innocent in costly and meritless litigation. This “guilty-until-you- prove yourself-innocent” proposal will drag down Connecticut’s competitiveness.
Job Tax on Wages: SB 1044 dictates wages in franchises—mainly small businesses—of all kinds in Connecticut, their parent companies, and other employers, with a tax of $1 per hour worked by any employee paid less than $15 per hour. The bill applies to employers with 500 or more employees, or franchisors whose local franchisees collectively employ 500 or more employees. It will drag CT down by making Connecticut a too difficult and too costly place to do business. It also will impel businesses to cut hours and benefits to low wage workers and interns.
Job Tax on Wages: HB 6791 is similar to SB 1044, but applies to employers with 250 or more employees, or franchisors whose local franchisees collectively employ 250 or more employees. It will drag CT down by making Connecticut a too difficult and too costly place to do business. It also will impel businesses to cut hours and benefits to low wage workers and interns.
Wages: HB 6705 is another wage-dictating proposal. It forces businesses receiving any financial assistance from the state for construction or renovation projects to pay above-market wages to all workers on that project. This will move CT down by making it more expensive for a business to expand their footprint.
Hours: HB 6877 mandates certain employers provide a 30-hour work week to any person employed or contracted to provide janitorial services. This will raise costs and move CT down by forcing businesses to eliminate members of their janitorial staff in order to comply with the law, resulting in more unemployment.
For more information, contact CBIA’s Eric Gjede at 860.244.1931 | eric.gjede@cbia.com | @egjede