The obstacles for small businesses would be huge; daily workload may not get done
HARTFORD, April 2, 2019 – NFIB reacted to the release of a poll today by proponents of a bill mandating a paid family medical leave program at all Connecticut businesses with one or more employees. NFIB, an association representing thousands of small businesses in the state, is opposed to the legislation and the following comments are attributable to NFIB’s Connecticut State Director, Andrew Markowski:
“A public poll doesn’t reflect a reality small businesses would face if one or more employees are off the job for up to 12 weeks. Its highly possible the required work can’t be completed. Maybe large companies with many employees could handle it, but this will become an impossible circumstance for most small businesses.
“The proposal goes way beyond the provisions in current state and federal statutes which exempt smaller businesses due to the hardships created. This plan allows no flexibility, and it could bring work to a stop at many small businesses, hurting the other employees.
“It’s not practical to expect all small businesses to hold a job open for three months and when they can’t find a temporary employee with the proper skills to cover the person who’s out. If a new person is hired, that would be unfair, because the business can’t keep that new employee on when the existing employee returns to work.”