Albany, NY (April 25, 2017) – Awaiting lawmakers upon their return to Albany this week for the remaining six weeks of the legislative session is a list of priorities and pain points for small employers issued by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). New York’s leading small business advocacy organization will make several of these issues the main focus of Small Business Advocacy Day which they are hosting at the capital on May 17th.
“Fortunately the state budget process failed to harm small employers, and we saw progress towards reigning in workers’ compensation costs. However, the mission is far from accomplished and considerable work remains in a variety of areas,” according to NFIB New York State Director, Mike Durant. “The Senate demonstrated leadership on reforms to the workers’ compensation program to ensure a reduction of costs on employers, and we remain hopeful that lawmakers in both houses will continue to prioritize small employers throughout the remainder of session.”
According to Durant, Main Street continues to face considerable uncertainty thanks to the long lead times built into the legislation instituting policies that were previously approved. Final rules on labor mandates like paid leave have yet to be released, and the continued phase-in of minimum wage are having a significant impact on the small business community.
“There are numerous ways that Albany can provide much needed fiscal and regulatory relief to small businesses before the conclusion of this legislative session and they will be our top priorities over the next few weeks,” continued Durant. “Specifically, we support legislation that would increase the tax exemption for small business owners with incomes at or below a certain threshold. Additionally, we will be advocating for legislation to reduce the corporate tax rate for small business owners with incomes below a certain level who pay corporate taxes.”
In addition to reducing taxes, NFIB’s five-point agenda includes support for legislation to provide fairness for small employers with respect to the paid leave mandate passed in last year’s state budget. According to Durant, the paid leave program in its current form will have a negative impact on employer’s experience rating accounts. Under current law, an employer’s unemployment experience rating account can be charged for a claimant who is terminated as the result of an original employee returning from paid leave. NFIB/NY supports a bill that says an employer’s unemployment experience rating account will not be charged in this situation.
While NFIB will be advocating for small business tax cuts and fairness for employers under the paid leave mandate, the organization has concerns about labor mandates that have been gaining momentum in recent months. Legislation attempting to mandate predictive scheduling or restrict the use of on-call scheduling remains a concern. Additionally, forcing employers who do not already offer a retirement benefit to employees to offer a state-sponsored retirement program and expanding prevailing wage are troublesome to small employers in New York.
“Employers are already mired in red-tape and regulatory confusion that take time and resources away from what they do best, run their business. Adding to administrative costs and burdens will only worsen the state’s business climate and slow job creation. Now is not the time for the legislature to rest on their laurels. Small employers are still facing considerable hurdles and positive action over the next six weeks will go a long way to restoring confidence and boosting the vitality of small businesses in New York,” said Durant.
During the remaining six weeks of the legislative session, NFIB/NY intends to focus their advocacy efforts on the following five issues:
*Enact Small Business Tax Cuts ( S2120) – This legislation would reduce the tax burden for small employers paying business taxes through their personal income tax. The cuts would increase the tax exemption from 5% to 15% for small business owners with incomes at or below $500,000 and business income less than $1.5 million. Additionally, it would reduce the corporate tax rate for small businesses paying via the corporate tax with an income at or below $500,000 from 6.5% to 2.5%.
*Paid Leave/UI Fix (S905) – Legislation which will provide necessary clarity for small businesses as the mandated paid leave program is implemented. Bill would prohibit an employer’s unemployment insurance experience rating from being impacted as a result of the utilization of replacement workers when a permanent employee goes on extended paid leave.
*Predictive Scheduling Mandates – NFIB will oppose new restrictions on the use of “on-call scheduling” by small business.
*State Sponsored Retirement Mandate (S4344/A4982) – Legislation would establish a mandated payroll deduction savings retirement plan. A 2016 NFIB/NY member ballot on this issue indicated approximately 86% of responding members opposed this mandate. This legislation will increase administrative and regulatory burdens that small employers are facing at an increasing rate in New York.
*Prevailing Wage Expansion – Efforts to expand the definition of public work and/or increase prevailing wage rates will be strongly opposed by NFIB/NY.
