While business groups argue that a proposed bill to fine larger low-wage employers would reduce the number of jobs in the state, a report released Wednesday claimed the opposite.
Funded by the worker-advocacy nonprofit Jobs With Justice, the report determined that SB 1044 could create between 532 and 1,388 net jobs in the state — many of them within state agencies.
The bill proposes to fine companies with 500 or more employees $1 per hour for every hour worked by an employee earning less than $15. The report, written by two economists and a UConn professor of social work, determined that the fines would result in $188.6 million in revenue for the state (based on 2014 data).
That money will allow major state agencies, such the Department of Social Services and the Department of Developmental Services, to increase employment, the report says.
If the bill passes, companies will likely use a variety of strategies to offset its impact. Some may choose to take lower profits, while others may choose to pay the fine and adjust their pricing and cost structures to make up for it.
A scenario in which affected employers choose to pass on the full cost of the fines to customers would generate the most net new jobs, the report said.
