Posts tagged Small Business
Commentary: Kevin Kiley: American Dream in danger
January 22, 2024 // AB 5 offers a warning to the nation. It is one reason California has ranked first or second in the country when it comes to unemployment and poverty, and last in the country in wage growth. Congress must reject the nationalization of AB 5 and protect the diverse range of work arrangements that contribute to the American economy. We must oppose the ongoing attacks on worker freedom and ensure that worker preferences and autonomy are accounted for in all policy decisions. More than ever, we must support the right of enterprising Americans to pursue their calling as they see fit. To that end, I am introducing legislation to nullify Biden’s Independent Contractor rule, and urge all Members of Congress to support it.
New for 2024: Minnesota law to grant more workers access to sick and safe time
December 29, 2023 // Four Minnesota cities — Bloomington, Duluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul — have already adopted similar policies. If a city offers more generous earned sick and safe time benefits, employers operating there would be asked to honor those.
Small business owners not optimistic as inflation, labor struggles continue: NFIB survey
November 14, 2023 // The NFIB's Optimism Index was 90.7 points in October, significantly lower than the survey's 50-year average of 98 A seasonally adjusted net of 17% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months and 61% of owners overall said they were hiring or attempting to hire in October – but 90% reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions.
Op-Ed: Biden’s joint-employer rule is bad for workers
November 9, 2023 // Included in the Employee Rights Act are the commonsense provisions of the Save Local Business Act, which would provide much-needed clarity in determining joint-employer status and prevent franchise owners from becoming corporate middle managers. More specifically, the bills amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act to clarify that two or more employers must have “actual, direct, and immediate” control over employees to be considered joint employers. It rolls back a convoluted joint-employer scheme that threatens job creation and undermines the American dream, and it restores a commonsense definition of employer to provide certainty and stability for workers and job creators. Simply put, the Employee Rights Act seeks to update our nation’s labor policies to match the needs of the 21st-century worker and workforce.
AB5 needlessly reclassifies genuine independent contractors, OOIDA says
November 8, 2023 // OOIDA, which is serving as an intervenor in a case against the state’s worker classification law, told the court in its Oct. 27 reply brief that AB5 needlessly causes genuine independent contractors to be reclassified as employees. “AB5 discriminates against and imposes undue burdens on interstate commerce in violation of the dormant Commerce Clause, and the disparate treatment of AB5’s business-to-business and construction exemptions violates the U.S. and California constitutions’ equal protection clauses,” OOIDA wrote.
UPS strike: Organizations ask White House to intervene to prevent strike that could cost billions
July 21, 2023 // More than 250 organizations signed the letter to voice their worries about the likely strike. “Given the debilitating impact of a strike on American families and the economy, we urge your Administration to provide the support necessary to help the parties reach a new agreement by the August 1 deadline,” the letter read. It went on to note that the strike would harm the U.S., considering UPS moves $3.8 billion in goods per day, or about 20 million packages a day. If the strike lasted for 15 days, the American economy could lose $55.5 billion, according to one study cited in the letter. In only five days, the strike could cost $15.8 billion. Additionally, the delivery service’s competitors cannot pick up the slack if UPS loses more than half of its workforce in the case of a strike.
BACKGROUNDER: Employee Rights Act
June 26, 2023 // Sponsored by Rick Allen (R-GA) The Employee Rights Act of 2025 safeguards and strengthens the rights of American workers. It guarantees workers’ right to a secret ballot election, ensures they can work directly with their employer if they opt-out of union membership, protects worker privacy, allows workers to choose to fund union politics or not, provides legal clarity for small business owners and independent contractors, and guarantees fair representation for all American workers.
Foxx: The NLRB and Big Labor Are Unabashed Bedfellows
June 14, 2023 //
Opinion: Connecticut Business Sickened by Bad LABOR BILLS
June 6, 2023 // Two pernicious bills, S.B. 6668 and S.B. 1178, mandate expanded paid sick time for employees of small businesses. If passed, the General Assembly would effectively be functioning as a labor union, completely ignoring their obligation to taxpayers. The language in both bills is almost identical, with S.B. 1178 expanding the way employees can utilize paid sick leave beyond their immediate family. The bill requires employers to allow for paid time off for employees to care for someone the employees themselves determine “whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of any such family relationship.”
DC restaurant workers claim attempt to unionize caused popular eatery to close
May 25, 2023 // In a statement to partners at 7News, IHG Hotels & Resorts, the owners of The Wharf’s InterContinental Hotel, announced that it will be parting ways with Moon Rabbit chef Kevin Tien and options are “being explored for a new concept” to replace the restaurant. The closure comes more than a month after the restaurant made Food and Wine’s “10 Best Restaurants in the U.S.”