Bill Vernon, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, released the following statement today concerning a bill that would have required businesses provide up to 26 weeks of paid leave annually:
“Our members understand the pressure that illnesses can put on a family, but this legislation – the latest of many costly burdens to be imposed on small businesses — isn’t going to solve the problem. If anything, this ‘Massachusetts only’ employer-funded mandated benefit is going to make things worse for people, not better.
“Small business owners do everything they can to accommodate their employees, but that doesn’t mean they can afford to pay a worker for half a year as well as the salary of a temporary worker to replace the employee who’s out sick or for four months when the employee is caring for a loved one.
“The only thing we know for sure about this proposal is that it’s going to cost employers and taxpayers a lot of money and probably make more desirable employment benefits that are optional, like vacation time and retirement savings, less robust, especially in small businesses. The bill is also fiscally irresponsible as it creates a new state agency to administer the program at a cost to taxpayers of who knows how much at a time when the state budget is being reduced. Finally, the bill puts taxpayers on the hook to fund paid leave and family leave benefits for private sector personal care attendants and daycare workers.
“This legislation simply isn’t well thought out. Instead of imposing a one-size-fits-all mandate on all small businesses, we need to give small businesses more flexibility to offer benefits to workers that they want and small business owners can afford, while continuing to resolve family issues in a way that works for employees as well as their business.”
NFIB is Massachusetts’ leading small-business association, representing a cross-section of the commonwealth’s economy. To learn more, visit www.NFIB.com/MA or follow @NFIB_MA on Twitter.
