Paid Sick Days Bill Clears Committee
by Christine Stuart | Mar 3, 2011 9:35pm
(15) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Business, Labor, State Capitol
In a move that was anticipated both by the proponents and opponents of the paid sick days legislation, the Labor and Public Employees Committee passed the measure by a one vote margin after a lengthy debate on past promises.
The committee voted 6 to 5 mostly along party lines. Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, cast the lone Democratic vote against the bill Thursday. Hewett has opposed the bill in the past so his vote against it was not unexpected.
The bill now moves to the Senate where it’s likely to be sent back to a few more committees before it’s debated by that body. To watch the replay of the committee meeting click here.
Jon Green, executive director of the Working Families Party, said Thursday’s committee vote was a “good positive, unsurprising first step.”
He said at the public hearing Wednesday the committee members who attended heard testimony not only from workers, but from employers who were in favor of the bill.
“Some businesses may have an old-fashioned view that anything that is good for employees is necessarily costly for employers,“ Louis Lista, owner of the Pond House in West Hartford, wrote in testimony he submitted to the committee. “But I think my business serves to prove that this is not a zero-sum game, and that providing decent benefits like paid sick days, even to workers in the food service industry, can pay real dividends for a business.”
Kia Murrell, assistant counsel for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, points out that there was also plenty of employer opposition to the measure Wednesday.
Mike DeVivo, owner of J and M Safety Consulting LLC, told the committee that it will increase the cost of doing business and will force employers to consider cutting back on other benefits they currently offer their employees.
“Increased regulations will hamper many businesses that I provide services for,” DeVivo told the committee in his written testimony.
This is at least the third time proponents of the bill have tried to get it passed in the Senate first and the House second.
Green joked Thursday that if they only lose one-seventh of the House vote like they lost one seventh of the committee vote then they’ll be fine and Connecticut will be the first state in the nation to adopt mandated paid sick time for companies with more than 50 employees.
The committee vote which took a few seconds Thursday was delayed for most of the afternoon because the Democrats first wanted to limit debate to 30-minutes per bill, then Republicans remembered they were promised public hearings on prevailing wage, collective bargaining, and binding arbitration and hadn’t gotten them yet. So they held up the committee process until Democrats agreed to a public hearing on all three of the topics. Democrats in the end agreed to the public hearings and the voting proceeded as planned.
Tags: paid sick days, business, labor, committee
(15) Comments
posted by: Tessa Marquis | March 3, 2011 9:44pm
Interesting sidenote: There were members of the Labor Committee who spoke about being “the first state” in the country to pass this legislation like it was a bad thing.
Perplexing.
posted by: skydogct | March 3, 2011 11:13pm
A successful first step, let’s keep marching forward. This is a bill that’s long overdue and will benefit working families.
posted by: CT Bill | March 3, 2011 11:30pm
skydogct,
Great to see your support of hard-working CT employees. But what would REALLY help is if you could get ALL your very very very close friends here on the comments page to support them too. Whataya say, Flying Fido?
posted by: redlady | March 3, 2011 11:47pm
why do people, who don’t manage a company or make a payroll, think they know best how to do that? CT is simply living up to its reputation as an unfriendly business state with this crazy mandate. It should be considered a gateway mandate - the door will be open for more of the same down the road. Why would a business look to come here? So, they can be ruined by these crazy mandates?
If a person is working for a company with lousy benefits, switch to another job with a better company. Good companies that want good help know how to structure their benefit pacakages to attract the best.
posted by: ... | March 4, 2011 2:08am
Well redlady, I agree would agree with that statement might make sense in this case, but the same argument was made by business leaders throughout our history, often in loosing arguments.
You don’t like the risk of loosing your finger in the only manufacturing business in the area? Then work somewhere else. Don’t like the level of smoke or harmful acids you have to handle/inhale improperly every day? Then work somewhere else. You don’t like being underpaid and overworked? Then work somewhere else.
And when the government came out and said: “You need to provide better health standards. You need to provide minimum wage. You need to increase safety.” How did businesses reply?
Stay out of our work! You don’t know how to run us. We’ll have to cut jobs if mandate this!
And the workers in these businesses had to quietly pass on in fear of being reprimanded or fired: We need this. We want this. We support this.
And I think redlady you know better than anyone else this working environment is toxic as it is. Telling someone to ‘go somewhere else’ is easier said than done.
That being said. I don’t fully support paid sick days, but your argument against it is too generic in my opinion.
posted by: CT Bill | March 4, 2011 10:31am
Token SP skydogct,
Well… My disappoint knows no bounds, oh pretty, pitiful pooch.
posted by: one-mans-voice | March 4, 2011 11:08am
SB 9956 has just been posted on the CGA Website. “Signs to be Posted on All Connecticut Border Roads”
“Effective at the passage of this act the following road signs will be posted at all Connecticut Border Roads as well as on all State of Connecticut Webpages:
Connecticut is Unfriendly to all Business. Look Elsewhere if you are Thinking about Creating Jobs Here”
Sponsered by Prague, Zalaski, Williams, Looney et al.
posted by: hawkeye | March 4, 2011 3:38pm
Mandated sick time cost-expense for companies employing 50 or more people, “is likely the straw that breaks the camels’ back,” and force numerous employers’ out of business, in our already, terribly-depressed economy.
Gov. Donnel P. Malloy, says he is saving the state from bankruptcy, but he is not sympathetic, with causing declining state business from going under.
Take your pick, Governor!
posted by: CT Bill | March 4, 2011 5:27pm
No, I’m NOT CT, Bill. Because, CT Bill does not, put commas in all the, wrong places, that’s how you can, tell that I’m somebody else, hawk, eye. S,e,e?
posted by: eastrivertype | March 4, 2011 6:18pm
This is ridiculous. Paid sick leave costs money. Employers know that they have to offer a competitive compensation package to get and keep employees. Who needs to tell the person that writes the check what they have to pay to be competitive? This is bad for employees since the money is going to come from somewhere. IT is bad for employers since it is an administrative nightmare. It is bad for CT since it drives the cost of doing business even higher. Great time to crank that up.
Either the employer passes it through to consumers (making it even more expensive to live in CT) or the employees are going to have their compensation package adjusted. This is not going to be a free lunch. Why do you think thousands of employers in this state and the nation think this is a really dumb idea? What is really perplexing is that the WFP and people like Tessa just don’t get it. They likely never will.
posted by: CT Bill | March 4, 2011 11:07pm
Well, CT Bill. I am not a big fan of yours, BUT…
AND I’m definitely PRO-union, defiantly, BUT…
In this case, I agree with you >>200%<<,
CT Bill
Oh, and,
Take your pick, Guvnah!
posted by: hawkeye | March 5, 2011 2:08pm
CT Bill: You seem to lose focus in addressing your comments, I’m glad that you have a better handle on punctuation.
Everything can’t go wrong for you, if you: “Enuciate the positive, and eliminate the negative, Billy!”
posted by: hawkeye | March 6, 2011 12:10pm
CT Bill: As your written comments, generally reflect “CT Bull,” I’m glad you are at least more knowledgeable about punctuation.
posted by: CT Bill | March 6, 2011 2:53pm
hawkeye,
Thanks for the feedback.
In return, here’s some wisdom I once read in a delicious fortune cookie:
THINGS YOU CAN EASILY FAKE:
1) Your name
2) Your opinion
THINGS YOU CANNOT HIDE:
1) Limited writing ability
2) A mean and callous disposition
Have a please sent Sunday! And I hope you are feeling better!