Good time for Colorado to announce suspension of state paid leave efforts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, [email protected],
or Tony Malandra, NFIB, [email protected]
DENVER, March 31, 2020—Colorado’s leading small-business association today called on state leaders to end efforts to impose a state paid leave law given the federal law taking effect tomorrow, April 1.
“We didn’t believe the state needed a paid-leave law long before the coronavirus crisis hit, because 73 percent of small-business owners already offered their full-time employees the benefit,” said Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for NFIB. “It makes even less sense now that the federal government will require paid leave beginning tomorrow. Where that money is coming from will be the biggest national question of the day. If there are no customers walking through your door, there’s no money to be made and no benefits to be offered to any employees who are still left. What would really be helpful right now is for state legislators to abandon their efforts to straitjacket small-business owners with a local law on the same issue.
“The rocky road and eventual stall of Senate Bill 188 required it to be turned into a study to be discussed during the summer of 2019. Shortly before the coronavirus struck, two important co-sponsors of the bill abruptly had their names removed from the draft bill. That should have been reason enough to shelve the paid leave idea. Now, it should be a done deal. The one thing small-business owners have universally requested is predictability in the rules and regulations their government passes, so they can make investments in people and equipment knowing laws will be the same from year to year.”
Reporters’ Resources from the NFIB Small Business Legal Center
From the NFIB Colorado webpage
Keep up with the latest Colorado small-business news at www.nfib.com/colorado or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CO or on Facebook @NFIB.CO
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NFIB is the voice of small business, advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit www.nfib.com/Colorado.
NFIB Colorado
1700 Lincoln Street, 17th Floor
Denver, CO 80203
303-860-1778
www.nfib.com/colorado
Twitter: @NFIB_CO
Facebook: NFIB.CO
