Representative Jason Perillo joined House Republicans yesterday and into this morning in opposing a Democratic bill to force employers to offer mandatory paid sick leave, a first-in-the-nation effort that will stunt job growth and cost businesses millions.
“This takes us a full 180 degrees out of phase from where this state ought to be heading,” said Rep. Perillo. “While Governor Malloy sounds the alarm that Connecticut is ‘open for business’ we continue to churn out anti-business legislation like this which actually creates incentives for businesses to fire people. It’s absurd.”
Businesses have opposed the mandatory sick leave policy and owners said they would take steps, such as downsizing or making employees part-time, to try and avoid the regulations. Perillo noted that the arbitrary nature of the measure is also puzzling- applying only to businesses of 50 or more workers, giving those companies no incentive to expand.
This bill requires each employee bee given five days per year of paid sick time off and would levy $500 fines per incident if workers are deprived of a sick day. It paves the way for nuisance lawsuits adding more costs to employers to defend.
Perillo said that this legislation is just another gift to organized unions who have hijacked the political agenda in Hartford aided by a very willing Democratic majority and the governor’s office.
Debate on the bill lasted from around 4:00 P.M. on Friday and concluded at 3:00 A.M. today. It now heads to the Governor’s office for his signature.
