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SFVikeFan said:
Right now there is no federal law requiring employers to give their employees sick leave. So now there is a bill on the floor from Dems that mandated 14 days paid sick leave for workers in the event of a public health crisis, 7 days accrues in year 1, etc.
What gives the federal government the authority to pass unfunded mandates on businesses?
GOP Senate voted it down.
Wrong.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash) asked for "unanimous consent" passage of the un-funded mandate sick leave.
(odd, since her state is one of 11 states that already
has paid sick leave)
"unanimous consent" means no debate/deliberation on the matter.
It only takes one Senator to end unanimous consent....and in this case it was RINO Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn). Hardly a rock-ribbed conservative. Ask AGR.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4871...leave-bill
We will see if they can hammer out something to help truckers, people in service industry and others who don’t get sick leave but with this GOP Senate I wouldn’t hold my breath.
**sigh**
Ewwww! Those wascawwy Wepubwicans!
Instead of another hastily passed federal unfunded mandate placed solely on businesses (also --like employees-- also "hurting") ....why not make Fedzilla put it's money where it's mouth is?
Why the sole "onus" placed on employers?
If we're bound to spend our way out of any pain encountered by anyone....why not spread the wealth around?
Federally Funded Sick Leave
While most U.S. workers have paid sick leave provided by their employers, close to one-third do not. Many of those without sick-leave are lower-income hourly or tipped workers. They are less likely to have access to ‘rainy-day’ funds to get them through a period of weeks without income.
This creates a dangerous incentive for workers who may have coronavirus but are not cripplingly ill to continue to show up to work, risking infecting coworkers, customers, and people they encounter on their commute. For the sake of containing the virus, we need to compensate these workers for performing the public service of staying home if they are sick.
The loss of income for these workers also threatens to have a destabilizing ripple effect on the economy by diminishing consumer spending. Obviously, workers who are not receiving incomes will need to reduce their spending. But many workers who are healthy will also reduce their discretionary spending in order to build a financial cushion in case they get sick. In an economy that is highly dependent on consumer spending, this could have serious deleterious consequences.
Democrat leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer seem to be calling for mandatory employer-provided paid sick leave, something the American left has long demanded. This would be a mistake, especially right now. Many of the businesses that do not currently provide paid sick leave are small enough that having to pay employees who are unexpectedly not working would be unsustainable. That is even more so when public fears over the coronavirus are slowing sales at restaurants, retail shops, and other public places.
Fortunately, there’s a better alternative—federally funded sick leave. The U.S. government should announce that it stands ready to send checks to employees with coronavirus. (If it is easier to administer, it can send the checks to employers who keep paying their workers.) This has the added advantage of putting the burden of paying the bills on the institution with the lowest costs of funds, the federal government. With Treasury yields all now solidly below one percent, the government can easily afford to add to the deficit to pay for sick leave.
