EXEMPTION OR NOT, PAID LEAVE WILL COST JOBS
MONTPELIER (February 4, 2016): A day after the Vermont Senate passed legislation mandating paid sick leave for all employers, an exemption for businesses with 5 or fewer employees was reconsidered for a vote this afternoon. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) remains the singular business group in the state of Vermont to publicly oppose the mandate, regardless of exemptions.
“Small businesses in Vermont, regardless of size, cannot tolerate any more mandates from law makers looking for a feel good sound bite to play during their next election. Mandating paid leave will have consequences for small businesses, and for their employees, regardless of what proponents would like Vermonters to believe,” according to NFIB representative, Kris Jolin. “We will not tolerate politicians claiming they advocated on small businesses behalf by throwing in a 5 or fewer employee exemption because it still damages a majority of our members.”
The motion to amend was postponed until next week, it remains to be seen whether or not the most vulnerable of small businesses will be excluded from the mandate. However NFIB remains adamantly opposed to mandatory paid leave, in any form.
“The Senate had the opportunity to stand up for small businesses and vote down this mandate yesterday. Unfortunately, once again, they failed to advocate for our state’s largest employer. Mandating paid leave will not only cost small businesses revenue that they do not have, but this will cost employees jobs that will no longer be available when Mom and Pop stores cannot afford the hard working people that they treasure dearly,” concluded Jolin.
