As the H1N1 flu sweeps across the country, the number of paid sick leave bills being considered in city, state and federal legislatures is mounting as lawmakers try to ensure ill workers take time off to recuperate.
The bills—three of which are pending at the federal level—are intended to slow the virus’ spread, but restaurant operators, already hamstrung by the economic downturn, are fighting the measures, which they claim would hurt their businesses further by forcing them to pay for sick leaves of between five and nine days per employee, depending on the measure.
“We are taking a close look at the legislation and have concerns about how it will affect restaurateurs in these tough economic times,” said Mike Donohue, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association. “We support voluntary paid leave programs that offer flexibility to employers and employees.”
Among the federal measures, the Pandemic Protection for Workers, Families and Businesses Act, which was introduced in the Senate and the House Nov. 17, would allow employees seven paid sick days for a two-year period.
A second bill, the Emergency Influenza Act, which was introduced in the House Nov. 3, calls for up to five days of paid sick leave, if an employer directs the employee to stay home.
And the third measure, The Healthy Families Act, was introduced in the House and the Senate last May and would provide up to seven days of paid sick leave. That bill has garnered the support of President Obama.
Restaurateurs, while concerned about the well-being of their employees and customers, are worried that passage of the legislation would cripple their industry, which already is suffering from double-digit sales dips since the recession began two years ago.
The NRA’s Donohue said a number of restaurant operators already offer their employees paid time off through their current benefit programs and mandated time off would only increase and intensify their labor costs.
“Many restaurateurs offer paid time off, and in the case of a public health situation, sick employees should stay home,” he said. “Employees should let their employers know they are feeling sick and should only come back to work when they are feeling better. As far as H1N1 is concerned, the health of the industry’s guests and employees is its No. 1 concern.”
In New York, small business owners rallied on the steps of City Hall Nov. 17 to voice their opposition to a proposed mandate requiring paid sick leave for all employees working at businesses in the city’s five boroughs. The bill, still under debate by New York City Council members, calls for all businesses with 10 or more employees to provide workers up to nine paid sick days. Any business owner that does not comply with the law would face a $1,000 fine per violation.
If the measure passes, New York would become the third city behind San Francisco and Washington, D.C., requiring businesses to offer paid sick leave to employees. Similar measures have been introduced in 15 states, including Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine and Ohio, although none have been passed into law.
“This bill is bad legislation for a good cause,” said Linda Barron, president of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce in reference to the New York City proposal. “Two-thirds of our business membership surveyed said they already allow a generous amount of paid sick days. Mandating paid time off would cost a minimum of $2 billion to $3 billion a year across all of the [New York] boroughs.”
Barron, who addressed more than 100 business owners at the City Hall rally, added that passage of a paid sick leave bill in New York City could cause many business owners to close up shop and relocate elsewhere.
“We will be forced to reduce salaries, cut benefits and lay off employees,” Barron said. “Passage of this bill would force many of us to move to more affordable locations and hamper job creation in this city. It makes no sense.”
For members of the restaurant industry, complying with a paid sick leave mandate would be especially challenging since depressed sales could not cover increased costs, said Marc Murphy, chef and co-owner of New York City’s Anvil Group, operator of the upscale Landmarc and Ditch Plains restaurants.
“If this thing passes, with 320 employees it would cost me $199,000 a year,” he said. “That’s a lot of money, even for me. It would hurt my business and maybe even cause me to have to close one of my smaller restaurants.”
Murphy said he’d rather take that money and spend it on opening new locations, which he noted would create more jobs and help landlords fill vacant spaces.
“I’d like to hire some more people, and there’s a lot of real estate available here in New York,” he said. “That $199,000 is a lot of seed money with which to start a new business.”
According to Peter Hansen, Murphy’s director of operations, all of Anvil Group’s managers already get five sick days, five personal days and are entitled to one week of vacation after one year of employment. He said sick employees, especially now with the threat of H1N1 flu so widespread, are “encouraged to stay home” when they are ill.
“We have to stay very aware of the health department’s regulations and make sure to follow all rules that are set forth,” Hansen said.
Still, some employees say mandated paid sick leave is the only way to ensure they will take time off when they are ill.
Ricardo Copantitla, a restaurant worker and member of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York, or ROC-NY, said in a prepared statement that he supports the proposed legislation because when he was sick he was not entitled to paid leave. He said he felt he had to work or lose his job.
He recalled that when he was ill the restaurant he worked for said, “You have to come to work because [we’re] short of people. I had a bad cough and felt tired and terrible, but I went to work.”
No dates for votes on any of the sick leave measures were set at press time.— [email protected]
