Jobs For Connecticut Now

This afternoon, Jobs for New England Now sent an open letter to CT State Legislators asking them to oppose H.B. 6187, the Paid Sick Leave bill. The bill, which mandates that companies with 50 or more employees provide paid sick leave at the rate of one hour for every 40 hours worked, would harm the very workers it is intended to help and add more fragility to the employment situation in Connecticut. 

Jobs for New England Now believes that paid sick leave, like health care, is a benefit most employers want their employees to have. The details of how the paid sick leave benefit is offered, however, must be left to individual companies and their employees to decide. Sick leave policy must reflect the economic realities of individual companies and the priorities of their people. And this is impossible if government imposes a one-size-fits-all policy.

This bill would be particularly dangerous for small businesses, as the added financial burden of mandatory paid sick leave for employees could prevent new hiring or even retaining current employees.  Even in robust economic times, this bill would be an unwarranted intrusion. In the current economy, it would be a serious setback to job creation in our state.

With less than three weeks to go in the legislative session , Connecticut lawmakers have made very little progress on addressing the state budget for the next two years which begins on July 1.  Negotiations among the Democratic controlled House and Senate and Governor Rell are not expected to produce a budget agreement before the end of the regular session of the General Assembly on June 3^rd.

The business community is concerned about proposed measures that would raise taxes on Connecticut small businesses through an increase in the personal income tax ,the reduction of tax credits that businesses need to grow and stay competitive and important sales tax exemptions.

An anti-jobs proposal that mandates paid sick leave for businesses with  50 or more employees continues to move through the legislature and may be voted on in the House of Representatives as early as next week.  The bill HB 6187, if adopted, would make Connecticut the only state to mandate paid sick leave, the wrong message to send to companies considering expansion in our state.

Yesterday, Jobs for New England Now was a proud supporter of an important conference at the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA).  The conference focused on the economic outlook for Connecticut and the greater New England region as we persevere through these difficult economic times.   An important highlight was a new Zogby International poll, which found that local residents are worried that significant tax increases on businesses could lead to the loss of even more jobs throughout the region. 

A synopsis of the poll from CBIA can be seen here.

Jobs for New England Now has long believed that legislators need to be more aware of how their decisions not only impact job retention and job growth in the state, but also how they impact every part of our community.  When actions are taken that put greater demands on business, companies can no longer remain successful in the area and they are forced to either cut jobs or shut down completely.  This filters back into the community and our residents because there are fewer resources to support the essential needs of our residents and there are fewer jobs available to help sustain commercial activity.  This new Zogby poll should help educate legislators to understand that although they believe additional taxes or the elimination of certain tax credits on businesses can provide additional revenue for the state, they do not promote greater job retention or a successful work environment for the businesses that employ the region’s workers. 

Connecticut residents are growing louder in their opposition for the most recent tax increases on businesses that have been proposed at the State Capitol.  According to the CBIA report, “the vast majority of respondents (82%) said significant tax increases on employers, as contained in a Finance Committee proposal (SB-932), will lead to further job losses in the state.”  We hope that legislators will listen to the voices of their constituents and find new ways to keep deserving jobs in the region!

This week both houses of the Connecticut legislature unanimously passed SB930. This bill would require any state agency proposing a a new regulation to identify how the measure impacts small businesses and include it in their analysis as part of the fiscal note that must be submitted to the Regulations Review Committee. Current law already requires agencies to determine if a proposed regulation adversely affects small businesses and, if it does, to consider other less burdensome ways to achieve the regulation’s goal. However, SB930 raises the threshold for the analysis, from fewer than 50 employees to fewer than 75 employees. Jobs for New England Now supports this legislation because we believe it will help protect even more small businesses throughout the region. Policymakers need to consider how every measure they enact will impact job growth and job retention in the state, and we believe this legislation will help ensure that process. It is our hope that Gov. Rell will sign the bill in short order and we hope that others will encourage her to sign it immediately.

According to the New Haven Register, our region may soon see a light at the end of the economic tunnel. The Register’s monthly economic scorecard continues to have mostly “thumbs-down” ratings on the various economic indicators, but inflation is in check and interest rates continue to be low. Donald Klepper-Smith, the economist who compiles the reports, suggested that we’re in the midst of a bottoming process, where the economy may start to show signs of improvement soon.

Unfortunately, most economic indicators have continued their downward trend, with unemployment increasing and consumer confidence decreasing as more people insecure about their jobs and the economy are choosing not to spend on big-ticket items like homes and cars. According to the Register, consumer confidence is down more than 74% compared with a year ago. Housing prices continue to slide and Connecticut residents disposable income has decreased.

That some economic indicators may be improving is an encouraging sign. However, our economic circumstances remain bleak, as Connecticut and other states struggle under the weight of massive budget deficits and continued job losses. Now is the best time for legislators across the region to implement policies that will encourage business growth and create a friendly environment for new business startups. Some of the greatest economic booms have been born out of recession, and New England has a wealth of enterprising businesspeople who would likely jump at the chance to start or grow a business if the right incentives were in place. Policymakers ought to recognize that they have the power to help pull our region out of the recession by creating a business climate that supports job and economic growth.

The full New Haven Register article can be viewed here.