Urge Legislators to Oppose Guaranteed Sick Leave Mandate

Take Action Now! 

The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development will hold a public hearing Thursday, July 14, 2011 regarding legislation establishing minimum paid sick leave in Massachusetts.  House Bill 1398 and Senate Bill 930 attempt to impose a one size fits all mandate on small businesses.  This is a top priority of Big Labor in Massachusetts- trying to win in the State house what they cannot win at the bargaining table.  Big Labor won this debate in Connecticut earlier this year and now has set its sites on Beacon Hill!  But guaranteed sick leave is wrong for Massachusetts' small businesses, and if not defeated, may soon be expanded to include family leave and other reasons for paid time off.  This proposed mandate would apply to all workers, including seasonal and part-time help.  It ignores the reality that small businesses need flexible policies that fit the needs of their workers and their business.

These proposals ignore the fact most small business owners already arrange for their employees to take time off as needed, whether for illness or for a family emergency.  If this legislation passes here, business owners and their workers would bear the financial burden of this poorly designed mandate.  More than 90% of businesses cope with employee absences by re-assigning work to other employees.  Small businesses compensate for an employee's absence by having other employees cover for the absent worker (71%), having the owner/owner's family cover (62%) and postponing the employee's work (21%).  For small  business owners, minimum paid sick leave may equate into overtime, hiring temporary workers, and additional training costs.

Mandated sick leave bills discourage the growth of small businesses in an already anti-business climate where several changes in taxes, health insurance mandates, data security impositions, and energy increases have all added further obstacles to job creation and workforce expansion.  The reality for MA businesses is that today most owners compete for qualified employees by offering flexibility when needed to balance family and work.

There is an organized and concerted effort to pass a paid sick leave bill in this upcoming legislative session.  Let your legislator know how this could effect your business and your personnel hiring potential.  Contact your legislators immediately to tell them of the dangers mandatory sick leave will bring.

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