Two bills aimed at ramping up workers rights — both viewed as unfriendly to business — are coming closer to reality.
State lawmakers on the labor and judiciary committees have passed bills that would create a paid sick leave mandate and restrict employers from requiring workers to attend “captive audience” meetings during labor-union formation.
The paid sick leave bill, which passed out of the judiciary committee Monday by a 26-16 vote, requires state businesses with 50 or more workers to provide up to 52 hours of accrued sick leave a year. The leave can be used for an employee’s or the employee’s child’s illness or injury, treatment of an illness or injury, diagnosis, and preventive medical care.
The captive audience bill, which has passed the judiciary and labor committees, prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings in which businesses lobby against the formation of a labor union.
The measure covers public and private employers.
Reader response:
“Shocking is the only reaction that strikes me. I believe these proposed actions to be patently irresponsible.
As more and more irresponsible legislators are elected by voters with their ‘government, give me more’ mindsets, our State economy will simply crumble under the weight of all the ‘give me’s’ with no means to pay for them.
Of course, there is another option – raise taxes. That should fix the problem. Wake up Connecticut!” — D. Merenda, i-Mark Inc.
“That’s great. What could be smarter than to have our legislature start making the private sector workforce look and act more like the state workforce. How brilliant. Can a mandated 35 hour week be far behind? Way to go guys, you are really special….pretty soon we’ll be an economic basket case like California, the worker’s paradise……if you have a job that is.” — S. Wilson, Vertex Inc.
“The bill requiring employers with 50 or more emplyess to provide 52 hours of paid sick leave could cause or contribute to a diseaes already aflicting Connecticut business. That disease is THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT.
We have indured the closures and bankruptcies.
We are trying to adjust to the amount of small and medium sized companies that have left the state for other states and countries for that matter. We pay pay the highest workmans comp in the nation. Is more business stress realy what we need? UTC and perhaps The Hartford can afford this possibly. But your small and medium sized companies may not have the remaining revenue to cope. ” — F. Berger, Berkshire Forklift Inc.
“this bill would reduce work forces resulting employers to cut back on the personnell so as not to be subject to this injustice.” — Vinny
“Another kick in the teeth to our greatest source of “economic development”. Right now its sick leave for companies of 50 or more workers. How soon before it spirals down to small businesses? Once the door is opened. . . CT is already ranked # 30 by The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC) in its 2009 Index of Best and Worst States for Entrepreneurship and Small Business. Maybe if we work real hard we’ll be able to join Maine, New York and Massachusetts in the bottom of the barrel. Frustrating!” — R. Dwyer, Northeast CT Economic Alliance Inc. Â
