The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) has voiced its opposition to proposed legislation that would expand paid sick leave within the state.
The General Assembly”™s Labor and Public Employees Committee is considering a pair of bills ”“SB 1178 and HB 6668 ”“ that expands paid sick leave mandates for Connecticut”™s private sector employers. CBIA noted that HB 6668 would require employers with 11 or more employees provide up to 40 hours of annual paid sick leave and those with 10 or fewer employees to provide up to 40 hours of annual unpaid leave. SB 1178 would require paid sick leave for all private sector workers and require all employers to double the annual leave allotment from 40 hours to 80 hours.
“Connecticut”™s already the sixth costliest state to run a business according to CNBC”™s 2022 America”™s Top States for Business study,” said Eric Gjede, CBIA vice president for public policy. “These proposals will only drive up those costs, particularly for small businesses, many of which have yet to emerge from the pandemic recession.”
A 2012 law requires Connecticut employers with 50 or more employees to provide paid sick leave to each of their in-state, full, or part-time service workers. Gjede observed noted that after the law took effect, a study showed that 90% of Connecticut businesses already offered some type of paid leave for employees.
However, he also pointed out that 53% of employers incurred additional cost increases ranging from 2% to 5% to comply with the mandate”™s various accrual and usage requirements.
Gjede said the latest proposals contribute to “a troubling pattern of treatment of Connecticut”™s small businesses by policymakers. Small businesses continue to be disadvantaged by the state”™s tax policies and bear a disproportionate burden of what seems to be a never-ending series of workplace mandates. Now is the time when lawmakers should be helping small businesses, which represent the largest percentage of employers in the state, rather than adding to their current challenges.”
