Minimum Sick Day Legislation

AZStickman · Mar 16, 2009

You guys saw NEMonts' discussion on the New COBRA act and the fact it's impact was going to drive one of his clients out of business. Well keep an eye on the legislation moving through congress aimed at requiring every employer with 15 or more employees to provide 7 minimum sick days to each employee. I just got through running the calculation for our business and it will cost us $750,000 a year. Right now we are in the process of closing down the division I work for and reducing head count corporate wide. Even with the draconian measure we've taken we're still $200,000 short of meeting budget. That's 50 more people at $40,000 / year. If this Bill passes it could kill our business.

Here's a link to a similar Bill introduced at a state level in California. http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home...rnardino-county/167-paid-sick-day-legislation interesting to see who supported it. Terry

piper · Mar 16, 2009

AZstickman- I guess the congress is full of idiots. its amazing, but I want to know where you learned math? 50 times 40 thousand. is 2 mil.

driftersifter · Mar 17, 2009

I hope he is not the accountant for that company no wonder its in the crapper.
Driftersifter

AZStickman · Mar 17, 2009

That should have read 200,000 / month.....Piper you'd be a fine candidate for congress.... Terry

30inchbuck · Mar 17, 2009

dont worry AZ - piper is very well known around here to not be the sharpest tool in the shed.

And as liberal as Jane Fonda

bwnco · Mar 17, 2009

AZ,

Of course if it doesnt have a Hammer and Sickle imbedded on anything some one says or does. Piper is going to throw down on it. He is so ignorant that even after failed attempts for hundreds of years everywhere its been tried, socialism is the answer, he makes me laugh. That's the one thing i do like about him. I make it a game. Let's see how one's brain can work like his. Course if he had a brain, he would take it out, and play with it.

AZStickman · Mar 17, 2009

Thanks guys. The point being made for those who choose to read it is that, while our new leader is touting the stimulus package as something that will create new jobs he and his cohorts in congress are destroying jobs at a faster pace through legislation like the new COBRA provisions and this mandated minimum sick pay Bill..... Terry

eelgrass · Mar 17, 2009

I think it's good legislation. And any money that an employer spends on sick leave during the year should be deducted from the bottom line of his income taxes. That should make everybody happy.

AZStickman · Mar 17, 2009

Eel....I be willing to bet that's not how this shakes out... Terry

gleninaz · Mar 17, 2009

If you give people 7 days then 90% of them will figure a way to use every single day. I can cut a couple of jobs to get under the cap so this will drive unemployment up. Small business drives this economy and this group has no clue about how their decisions will work out. Might be nice to have a few people who have actually run a business in the administration.

eelgrass · Mar 17, 2009

Terry, I know it isn't written or proposed that way, so I'm against it, but it would be fair. Lots of government workers get sick pay, but very few in the private sector do.

Eel

AZStickman · Mar 18, 2009

Glenn gets it!!!.... Cutting head count to get under the cap is one way employers are going to deal with this. Another twist is that after this Bill is anacted employers are locked into providing their existing time off benefits such as personal days, vacation, and existing sick day allotments plus meeting the new requirements. Mid size and large business who can't use reduced headcount alone to minimize or eliminate the impact of this Bill are already looking to cut out holidays and personal days, they now provide voluntarily, to offset the pending regulations. Ironic how poorly thought out knee jerk regulations usually hit hardest the people they are supposed to help...... Terry

woodruffhunter · Mar 18, 2009

LAST EDITED ON Mar-18-09 AT 08:42AM (MST)[p]Eel,

I usually agree with 99% of what you say. However, you are dead
wrong on this. Forcing a company (to give 7 days of sick) is nothing more than a modern form of Socialism.

Saying that the "government" does it surely can't suggest you would expect a "Private Company" to run the same way??? If I operated my business like the government, I would soon be bankrupt.

If a person wants 7 days of sick leave, he or she is more than
welcome to apply for a state/government job.

Thats the beauty of Capitalism. I once had a job I didn't like, didn't think it was fair, so I quit and did something else.

Its easy for an employee to believe they need to make 100K a year, get 4 weeks of vacation..... The reality is, most businesses (especially small) will just lay employees off to cover the costs.

This will do nothing but increase unemployment.