While the budget deficit is derailing the small business tax credit, and the rail yard debacle is being punted, the Connecticut state senators have, in a 20-16 vote, proved that they have lost touch with how small businesses really work. They of course think that they have passed a sick leave bill that protects the worker from something. The essential protection, that any Connecticut employer who employs over 50, must provide 6.5 days of paid sick days. Connecticut would be the first state enacting such a law, if it passes the House, according to the Courant.
Let’s put this in mathematical terms, there are on average 249 work days in a year. 50 employees with 6.5 sick days is a total of 325 days. Connecticut senators have effectively reduced that mythical man day workforce by a whole productive employee. Oh sure, there are arguments to be made on behalf of the employees who can’t afford to get sick, and lose wages because of it. But those arguments speak to the larger issue of why it is that employers can make decisions that reduce benefits to employees despite shrinking workforces.
My short list:
1. Employee really doesn’t have any skills worthy of employment elsewhere
2. Employee afraid of losing health insurance
3. Employee really likes job
4. Employee can’t find a better paying job
5. Employee can’t relocate because of various reasons
Feel free to add more. My point is that they are about employee’s making choices. Each are solvable by the employee, except the health insurance one. In some families the health insurance benefit is a big deal, and that’s why, at least at the national level, health insurance and health care are policy issues in much debate.
The problem with this bill is that it targets the wrong thing. We don’t need to focus on sick workers, we need to focus on encouraging employers to support healthy workers. Why not a bill that rewards companies that do the types of things that keep workers from getting sick, or helping workers who have sick family members? Instead, this bill doesn’t target the workers who need help the most, it just raises the cost of doing business in Connecticut by treating all workers the same.
