Mandatory Paid Sick Leave / Issue 4
More Coming Soon! Please check back.
Please join us for a combined
Membership Meeting
of the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce and the Muskingum Valley Human Resource Management Association
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
8:00 am to 9:30 am
Bryan Place
49 North Sixth Street, Zanesville, Ohio
Topic
Issue 4 / Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
Presenter
Tony Fiore
Director of Labor & Human Resources Policy
Ohio Chamber of Commerce
As a specialist on issues related to employment law for the Ohio Chamber, Tony Fiore finds himself at the forefront of the effort to defeat Issue 4. Issue 4 is an initiative on the on the November ballot that if passed will require employers of 25 or more workers to provide 7 paid sick leave days per year to each employee. Come learn more about the proposed law, about statewide efforts to defeat the initiative, and what employers should do to be ready.
The Board of Directors of the Chamber has taken a stance in opposition to this proposed law. More information on the Chamber’s position, including reasons why the Chamber opposes this measure, can be found at www.zmchamber.com
There is no cost to attend this meeting but we do request that you RSVP if you plan to attend so that adequate seating can be provided. Please RSVP if you plan to attend by emailing jriddle@zmchamber.com or call 455-8282.
MEMORANDUM
TO: Chamber Members
FROM: Tom Poorman, President
DATE: 8/15/08SUBJECT: Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Issue
The Chamber Board of Directors voted this week to take a position opposing the mandatory paid sick leave proposal that will appear on the November ballot.
This measure, known as Issue 4, will require all employers with 25 or more employees to provide their workers with 7 paid sick leave days per year. More detail on this issue can be found online at www.zmchamber.com.
The reasons for the Chamber’s opposition to this proposal are:
- It will make Ohio less attractive as a business location and less competitive in economic development.
- It provides a disincentive for business growth and job creation.
- It will increase costs for existing employers, especially smaller businesses.
- Expense cuts or price increases will be required by businesses to adjust for its impact, and both undermine economic growth.
- It mandates benefit levels, which circumvents an employer’s right to set their own policies and even bypasses negotiated labor contracts.
- It could pave the way for additional mandates on other employee benefit programs like health insurance and vacation leave.
- Compliance will be difficult and complicated, especially for smaller employers.
- Economic conditions in Ohio are already challenging so the timing could not be worse.
- Ohio has worked in recent years to change some of its more business-unfriendly laws, such as the tax code, and this undercuts the gains that have been made.
- Ohio will be one of only a couple of states in the union with such a law.
- The measure is a political tool designed to fulfill a political agenda, not a genuine, well thought out public policy solution to a documented problem that balances the interests of both employees and employers.
The Chamber understands the need for employees to have benefits like sick leave.
But this is simply not the way to go about addressing this issue. The proposed law is invasive, costly, and anti-growth, and the Board of Directors sees those as the fatal flaws in this proposal.
We will be holding an informational session on this issue in September. Watch your mail for details about this briefing.
All members are encouraged to educate themselves on this issue, inform their employees about its harmful provisions and impacts, and vote NO on Issue 4 in November.