Should Small Businesses Be Required to Give Sick Days
A movement is growing — albeit slowly — to require small businesses to offer sick days, health insurance coverage and other benefits for employees.
Traditionally small businesses under a certain size have been exempt under state laws requiring benefits. Small businesses are also exempted from the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, requiring employees to grant leave for various family situations such as the birth of a new child.
California joins other states (Ohio and Massachussets, along with a Federal proposal) that are considering legislation to mandate paid sick leave.
Much as we may feel for employees who become ill, the economics are such that many small businesses cannot afford paid sick leave. Consider the business owner interviewed in a recent Sacramento Bee article:
Bill Reed, owner of Reed’s Ribs and More in Sacramento, said he’s sympathetic to workers getting ill, “but there’s really nobody you can pick up to fill in. And you would have to pay that person to fill in. I only have three employees.
“And on top of that, I have workers’ compensation (to pay), so, yeah, it would be tough.”
The plight of this business owner is pretty much the same all over. You only have a few employees to begin with. Profits are not robust enough to bring in replacement workers, let alone have to pay the sick employee, too. It’s an unfortunate situation, but the financial consequences of mandating sick leave could cause some small businesses to shutter. There’s just no leeway to pick up those extra costs. Then where would ALL the employees be if that happened?
The amazing part about the proposed legislation is how the proponent has managed to convince herself that businesses would actually SAVE money by taking on this extra financial burden. Supposedly the lower turnover would save money. The problem with basing your fiscal calculations on lower turnover is that it’s a soft cost, yet your cash flow needs are based on hard numbers — real money you have to come up with each week, here and now.
