Sick leave act could make businesses ill
POSTED: March 31, 2008
If passed into law, Ohio Healthy Families Act would require Ohio employers with 25 or more employees to guarantee seven days of paid sick leave each year to full-timers, and a prorated portion of the mandated leave to part-timers.
If the General Assembly fails to act by the end of April, the Service Employees International Union, which submitted the original petition, plans to gather enough signatures to place the issue on the November ballot.
Ohio’s legislators, and especially those representing the Mahoning Valley, hopefully will see the folly in this proposal. Revitalizing the local economy will hinge considerably on small businesses, such as the two housed in the Youngstown Business Incubator and more that U.S. Rep. Timothy J. Ryan has in mind for a similar Warren incubator.
The proposal will deter businesses from locating in Ohio — there are no other states that require mandated sick leave.
Ohio House Speaker Jon A. Husted is on the record opposing the proposal. Ohio in general and the Mahoning Valley in particular already have a reputation for being unfriendly to business, so local leaders like Reps. Tom Letson, D-Warren, and Sandra Stabile Harwood, D-Niles, Sens. Capri Cafaro, D-Hubbard, and John Boccieri, D-New Middletown, and others should follow Husted’s lead.
editorial@tribune-chronicle.com
Member Comments
View Comments: | 1-7 | Post a comment
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GoBrowns
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06-02-08 4:00 PM
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I have perfect attendance. Give me sick time and I will use it. But i do go to work sick and it really wears me out. I do feel I need it but it would be more abused by people who dont need it. Maybe more half days paid at best. One thing ohio cant afford at a whole though is losing jobs, which is more important then the people with jobs losing a days pay. Spend your money wisely then you could afford to take a day off when it is needed. I believe that it would be abused more then it would be used wisely based on the lazy people i work with. I already see it with FMLA. I bet FMLA is used more in the summer months then in the winter months when people are more likely to be sick.
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mwtigger2002
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05-29-08 7:58 AM
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they should people get sick and if they go to work sick then they will get more people sick then they will spend more money hiring temps then granting one person a sick day what has the world come to where a business is afraid to help there employees out
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warrenite4now
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04-29-08 10:34 PM
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Funny how alot of the blame goes toward the patient. If you go to the doctor and tell them that you have no insurance, your office visit fee is a reasonable amount. However, mention that you have insurance then the amount is alot higher. Even some of the insurance companies are guilty. They deny certain treatment; the patient gets worse, treatment costs are much higher to correct and the patient looses work. It's a snowball effect that leads to high debt and/or bankruptcy. All could have been avoided with proper insurance coverage and preventative health care. I know, I've been there.
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dreamofmaui
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04-26-08 8:32 PM
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If business won't come to Ohio because they would have to treat their employees as human beings then let them go somewhere else. We do not need anymore crappy, low wage with no benfits jobs. Went to work countless times so sick I had to take half of my medicine cabinet with me. Was it appreciated, NO! Why management and owners came and went as they pleased. Just don't die during lunch because they will dock your pay.
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warrenite4now
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04-19-08 9:34 PM
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The rest of the comment should say: "It is by the sweat of our brow and the strength of our backs that we carry this Nation. It's time to pay up!"
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warrenite4now
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04-19-08 9:32 PM
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I would love to see this get on the November ballot! Bring it to the "people". Maybe they should add health insurance to that same ballot. I think it should be mandatory for an employer to provide health care. Maybe if we had a good preventative health care system, then the workers wouldnt get sick enough to need a paid sick day. The big problem here is the decline of Unions in America. The American workers allowed the unions to fall apart by not letting their voices be heard. We let the big companies threaten to move overseas and/or threaten bankruptcy as a negotiating tactic to force concessions on us. Then we let government intervention override the "right to strike" with the air traffic controllers, many years ago. Since then, unions have been declining. If more people had union representation, then there wouldn't be an issue that needs State intervention. It is by the sweat of our brow and the strength of our backs that we carry this Nation. It's time to pay u
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Billdog
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03-31-08 10:06 AM
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If business' were fair to employees and their families that have legitiment illness and not punish them for getting the flue, food poisoning and other occurances we wouldn't need this. It is always amazing that the people that oppose such things are the ones that have them.
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