Press Releases

For Immediate Release
April 24, 2008
Contact: Carrie Haughawout, Director, Ohio Small Business Council
Ohio Chamber of Commerce
614/228-4201
chaughawout@ohiochamber.com

OHIO SMALL BUSINESS COUNCIL OPPOSES MANDATED SICK LEAVE PROPOSAL

COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Small Business Council (OSBC) today voted unanimously to oppose the mandated paid sick leave proposal backed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

“If passed, Ohio would be the only state in the entire country to mandate paid sick leave for its employees,” Tom Pitrone, Chairman for the OSBC said “At a time when Ohio’s economy is facing rough and uncertain times, the SEIU is proposing a mandate that is bad for our economy, bad for employers and bad for employees.”

 The initiative is the result of efforts by the SEIU to mandate all Ohio employers with 25 or more employees provide seven paid sick days to their employees. Having collected more than 120,000 signatures before the end of last year, the group sent their proposal to the Legislature for their consideration. However, it appears that the Legislature will not pass a bill and would therefore require SEIU to collect another 120,000 valid signatures and get the initiative on the ballot in November.

 In recent months, the proposal has been criticized for being vague and ambiguous. Businesses and employers across Ohio are unsure how details of the initiative would be implemented if passed. Additionally, the proposal does not take into account what benefits a business may already offer its employees and it provides more opportunities for employee abuse.

“The SEIU’s supposed mission is to protect employees, however in this case they’re protecting them from having a job,” Pitrone said. 

The Ohio Small Business Council is a division of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce that was created specifically to promote and protect the establishment, growth and vitality of small business in Ohio.

Today’s vote by the Ohio Small Business Council follows similar action taken by the Ohio Chamber’s Board of Directors earlier in 2008 when they unanimously voted to oppose the initiated law.

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