The Connecticut Business and Industry Association is saying labor mandates may be the next impetus for businesses to leave the state. It cites the case of a Torrington manufacturer leaving after 100 years in business.
In a statement, the CBIA said the perennial threat of new and expanded inflexible labor mandates—such as paid family and medical leave, mandated $15 per hour minimum wages, and paid sick leave forced Borgeson Universal Co. of Torrington to relocate. The CBIA said their plea was echoed in testimony before the General Assembly last year from more than 36 organizations representing thousands of employers.
According to the statement, a recent survey of CBIA members found that 54 percent of respondents said they had amended their leave policies in the last five years to give workers added workday flexibility. “What lawmakers are promoting, however, is not voluntary, but another one-size-fits-all mandate that would even apply to Connecticut’s smallest businesses,” said the CBIA.
The business lobbying group also said paid family and medical leave is not the job-recruiting tool some would claim. “If that were so, Connecticut—with numerous workplace mandates and more to be proposed—would be one of the top job markets in the country,” the statement said.
