A coalition of over 40 employer groups is urging state lawmakers to reject a raft of labor- and employment-related bills it maintains will increase expenses for small businesses and stall Connecticut’s recovery from the massive economic blow dealt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter, the business organizations denounced 12 bills approved by the Labor and Public Employees Committee, most of which have been framed by sponsors as improving protections and benefits for workers.
But the signatories said the proposals throw up barriers to job growth by raising costs and saddling employers with burdensome and unneeded regulations.
The list includes bills that would expand sick leave, require employers to recall certain laid off workers in order of seniority, invalidate non-compete agreements for employers making below a certain threshold, make it harder for companies to reject applicants due to their criminal history, and levy penalties against businesses for not providing sufficient notice for shift changes or failing to reimburse expenses associated with work-from-home.
One proposal, HB 6478, increases certain benefits and compensation for employees who contracted COVID-19, regardless of whether they contracted the virus at work.
Some of the referenced bills overlap, or represent Senate and House versions of similar legislation.
The letter was signed by 44 industry groups, including the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, Connecticut Restaurant Association, and Connecticut Retail Merchants Association.
“There’s really no rhyme or reason for the committee to pursue such a broad series of harmful measures, particularly in the middle of the pandemic,” said Eric Gjede, CBIA’s vice president of government affairs. “Where’s the logic? Where’s the understanding of what it’s going to take to restore the hundreds of thousands of lost jobs and rebuild the state’s economy?”
“This is not changing the narrative for what Connecticut needs to be successful,” Gjede continued. “These are the same types of policies that caused us to lag every other state in recovering from the last recession.”
