Dear Brooklyn Chamber Member:

We ask that you once again join us in our efforts to defeat the New York City Council’s proposed Paid Sick Time legislation.

Despite countless meetings with and letters of opposition to members of the City Council over the last six months, the Paid Sick Time bill has been re-introduced with minimal changes.  The 5 Boro Chamber Alliance, which includes the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, along with a coalition of more than 25 trade and business organizations, continues to meet with numerous City Council members and media outlets to express opposition to this bill.  We will not idly stand by as City government mandates yet another unfair cost to businesses, many of which already provide their employees paid sick time.

Our position from the very beginning has been supportive of the proposition that employees should not fear termination for taking a day off when ill.  However, we have certain important questions about the bill that remain unresolved:

• Burden on Businesses: Why is the entire burden of paying for time off placed on the employer?
• Number of Days Off: Why is there a distinction between the numbers of days off for employees of "large" versus "small" businesses?  Is there any indication that employees in "large" businesses get sick more often?
• Incentives vs. Disincentives: Why does this bill offer disincentives to employees (not to work for "small" businesses because of fewer days off) as well as to employers (not to hire 20th employee due to increased cost of having to provide all employees with additional days off)?  Why not offer incentives, such as a tax credit that increases with each day off the employer offers?
• Hardship Exemption: Why doesn't a hardship exemption exist for businesses that can demonstrate that offering the number of required sick days would result in job loss or insolvency?
• Cost to City: What will the cost of administering this bill be to the City – and ultimately the taxpayer?

We encourage you to join the Brooklyn Chamber at the hearing scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11, at City Hall to express your opposition to this onerous bill.  In the meantime, we urge you to take action by sending an email to a targeted list of City Council members prior to next week’s hearing.

Click here to send your email message now.

I thank you for your participation on behalf of the Brooklyn Chamber and the 5 Boro Chamber Alliance.

Sincerely,
 
Carl Hum
President & CEO
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce