As soon as the figurative ink dried on my last posting about the Labor Committee, they raised numerous legislative concepts that, if enacted, would increase employers’ labor costs and administrative burdens during one of the most difficult economic periods of our time.
Among the worst proposals introduced were measures to:
- Eliminate social security disability payment offsets in long term disability insurance policies;
- Eliminate state financial assistance to companies that reduce employee retirement benefits in any way during the course of their state contracts;\
- Mandate employers to provide a minimum amount of paid sick leave for all employees; and
- Establish new legal presumptions for certain state and municipal employees in workers compensation claims.
All of these concepts are problematic because they either create new mandates, restrictions, penalties or procedures for employers when managing employees and labor-related claims. However, the concepts alone do not convey their full impact on employers because as always- the devil is in the details. We will update you on the specifics of these proposals once legislative language is drafted.
However, we already know that anything that makes it more costly or more difficult for businesses to operate in Connecticut is bad for business and even worse for the state economy.