Minnesota Republicans are pushing back against Minneapolis’ and St. Paul’s right to mandate sick leave, according to City Pages.
This isn’t the first time this ordinance has come under fire. In October 2016, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, NFIB and several other groups sued the city of Minneapolis over its paid sick time ordinance.
Now, Republicans are taking a stand by introducing the Uniform State Labor Standards Act, a bill that “would cancel the Twin Cities’ ordinances and prevent other cities from following suit,” according to City Pages.
Already the bill has passed several committees in both the House and Senate.
“It’s absolutely essential that the legislature pass this legislation,” says NFIB/MN State Director Mike Hickey. He and NFIB are part of a lawsuit trying to block the mandated paid sick leave.
But there’s another issue at hand. The Uniform State Labor Standards Act, proposed in the House by Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington), has also raised concerns among those who want to see Minneapolis enact a $15 an hour minimum wage, according to the Southwest Journal.
Hickey says, “We are very concerned about the city acting drastically and imposing a $15 minimum wage on small businesses that cannot afford it. It will inevitably lead to the closure of some small businesses and restaurants and will also likely destroy many jobs.”
Sen. Jeremy Miller (R-Winona), who proposed an identical bill in the Senate, said “the bills aim to prevent a patchwork of inconsistent labor standards,” which he argued “would create confusion and a huge burden for businesses and small businesses in particular,” according to the Southwest Journal.
“It would be extremely difficult for us to keep track of different rules and regulation in different cities and counties throughout the state,” said Miller, the CFO of Miller Scrap, a family-owned scrap metal and recycling business.
