Paidsickdays at Main Street Alliance

Understanding Earned Paid Sick Time in Michigan: A Guide for Small Business

Posted on Blog by · October 16, 2018 7:20 AM

Michigan Small Business Alliance Releases Report Highlighting New Earned Paid Sick Time Law’s Implications for Small Business

DETROIT, MI— The Michigan Small Business Alliance held a press call today with State Representative Stephanie Chang to discuss the new earned paid sick time legislation and what small business owners can expect from its implementation.

The Alliance also released a new report today that serves as a guide for small business owners to implement the new law and draw on lessons from other localities that have similar laws. The report highlights the necessity for earned sick time, citing that employees’ access to earned sick time improves overall health and productivity in the workplace, increases employee retention and reduces healthcare costs.

Seattle Business Owner and U.S. Secretary of Labor Talk to Vermont Businesses about Earned Leave

Posted on Blog by · October 20, 2014 1:08 AM

Last week, Main Street Alliance, in partnership with former governor Madeleine Kunin, convened a Business Task Force on Earned Leave in Burlington, Vermont. The event was held at locally owned Hotel Vermont over two days and included a visit from the United States Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez and a conversation with Washington business owner Molly Moon Neitzel, owner of Molly Moon’s Ice Cream Shops in Seattle.

The purpose of the two day roundtable was to bring together a broad cross section of the Vermont business community - including representatives from various business chambers, associations, and business owners to discuss last year’s legislative proposal on Earned Sick Days and to begin to chart a course forward with an eye toward the 2015 legislative session. Participation was well balanced between those who have a record of supporting efforts to establish a minimum standard of paid time off and those who have historically opposed such proposals.

The two-dozen participants heard from several experts in fields related to the debate on the first day and spent the following morning engaged in a facilitated dialogue surfacing both concerns and common ground. Secretary Perez, who stopped in to speak to the group for an hour, expressed his admiration for such a collegial approach to the issue, encouraged the continuation of productive dialogue, and expressed his hope that Vermont will be able to pass a bill next year.

Perhaps the most impactful moment was when Seattle business owner, Molly Moon Neitzel, teleconferenced in to share her experience as a business owner in a city that has already passed legislation similar to that under consideration in Vermont. Molly acknowledged her own initial skepticism of a universal standard of earned sick time in Seattle and admitted that, prior to the debate in her city, she had not offered sick time to her employees who tend to be between the ages of 18 and 24 and primarily part time. She was worried that her staff would use all their time and couldabuse the privilege – that it would be just another costly mandate in a city already known for its progressive workplace policies. In reality, however, she said that it’s had a negligible cost and has built enormous goodwill. She said, “It’s a liability on the books, but the cost just hasn’t materialized. I spent way more last year changing my brand of strawberries than paying for paid sick time.”

Main Street Alliance will continue to facilitate dialogue within the Vermont business community looking forward to the introduction of a new bill in 2015 to establish a minimum standard of earned paid leave in Vermont.

News Breaks on Main Street Alliance's New Project in Vermont

Posted on Blog by · August 25, 2014 12:51 AM

Main Street Alliance, a national network of state and locally based small business coalitions, announced this week that they are affiliating a state project in Vermont under the leadership of Lindsay DesLauriers.

“We are thrilled to begin working with businesses in Vermont where so many exciting things are on the horizon,” said Main Street Alliance’s national Director, Amanda Ballantyne. “We worked with businesses in support of the Affordable Care Act and we are looking forward to helping elevate the strong support among small business owners in Vermont for Universal Health Care, among other issues.”

The group’s founding members include Liza Cain and Randy George, co-owners of Red Hen Bakery; Melinda Moulton, CEO of Main Street Landing; Trudy Trombley, owner of the Boutique at Stowe Mercantile; Stephanie Hainley, COO at White and Burke Real Estate Investment Advisors and former President of the Burlington Chapter of Business and Professional Women (BPW), and Wayne Nelson, partner at L.N. Consulting. They issued a joint statement saying, “We are excited to welcome Main Street Alliance to Vermont and to help elevate the voice of Vermont’s small businesses. We know that when we support our communities, we support our community businesses and we’re looking forward to making it easier for small businesses to join in these conversations in Montpelier.”

DesLauriers, comes to this role fresh from the 2014 Paid Sick Days Campaign, where she was the Campaign’s Director, employed by Voices for Vermont’s Children. “I’m so happy that I’ll be able to continue to work with the Earned Sick Days Coalition and local business owners to advocate for a standard of paid time in Vermont,” DesLauriers said. “As the Campaign Director for Paid Sick Days, it was my goal to address Vermonters’ real need for a standard of paid time in a way that makes sense for businesses and honors their leadership in policy development. We made a lot of progress last year and we’ll continue to work toward this goal in 2015.”

Main Street Alliance small business members have helped develop, support, and implement economy-boosting paid sick days laws in Seattle, Washington; Portland and Eugene, Oregon; Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey; and New York City.

Personally, DesLauriers grew up working and skiing at Bolton Valley Resort, which was owned and operated by her family until 1997. With both family and professional ties to the business community and the hospitality industry, DesLauriers describes herself as uniquely sympathetic to the challenges and responsibilities borne by small and mid-size businesses in Vermont. “Main Street Alliance is a great fit because both I and the organization as a whole are committed to the core values that will that will support and grow local businesses by supporting and building a robust economy for all Vermonters.”

Main Street Alliance creates opportunities for small business owners to speak for themselves to advance public policies that are good for small businesses, their employees, and the communities they serve. Vermont will be the 12^th state affiliate.

Learn more at www.mainstreetalliance.org/vermont or visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/vtmainstreetalliance

What Do Vermont's Small Business Owners Care About? We're Asking Them

Posted on Blog by · August 15, 2014 12:25 AM

As part of our founding work, the Vermont Main Street Alliance Outreach Team has been traveling across the state this summer speaking to hundreds of small business owners about a variety of statewide policies. The small business owners we’ve met have helped us to understand their concerns, they’ve shared their ideas, and they've shown tremendous support for a number of issues that we know will be addressed in the upcoming legislative session – including overwhelming support for the implementation of a universal, publicly-financed healthcare system in Vermont.

The owners we spoke to have shared that a universal healthcare system would remove a cost-burden from employers that many of them simply cannot afford. Even those who are providing insurance still struggle with the knowledge that, under the current system, many of their employees often can’t afford the co-pays and high premiums.

Additionally, many of the small business owners we’ve met have shared that the lack of affordable, high-quality childcare in Vermont has made it difficult to retain employees. They are keenly aware of how hard it is for Vermonters - owners and employees alike – to manage the demands of work with small children to care for. In some areas of our state, it is just plain hard to find reliable, high-quality childcare; where it is available, it’s hard to afford. We are learning that this is much more than an issue impacting low-income working families: the challenges posed by accessing childcare and the need to improve quality impact all of our families – owners and employees alike. Many of the businesses have even signed a statement of support for the efforts of Let’s Grow Kids, a public education campaign focused on the importance of early childhood.

But one of the most interesting and validating themes that has come up unsolicited again and again is that our main street business owners aren’t feeling represented by the larger business chambers – often both at the regional and state level. There is a feeling shared by many that the traditional chambers prioritize the interests of larger businesses, not always understanding the implications of how truly tied to the community locally owned small businesses are. The Vermont Main Street Alliance outreach team has been working hard to make these connections with real Vermont small business owners to help ensure that the voices and interests of small businesses are heard and represented.

Eugene, Oregon Becomes Nation's Ninth City to Adopt Paid Sick Days

Posted on Blog by · July 30, 2014 2:38 AM

Community members, small business owners, and Council members celebrate Monday's paid sick days victory at Falling Sky Brewing in Eugene, Oregon.

On July 28, 2014 the Mayor and City Councilors of Eugene, Oregon voted 5 to 3 to implement a paid sick days policy that will enable people who work in the city to earn sick time while they work, making Eugene the second city in Oregon, and the 9th U.S. city, to adopt such a policy.

Small business owners with the Main Street Alliance of Oregon cheered the ordinance passage as an important step to create more economy-boosting jobs.

“Eugene’s paid sick days policy will benefit everyone. It will boost the local economy and help small businesses succeed,” said Catherine Reinhart, co-owner of Sweet Life Patisserie. “It’s simple economics: we sell more sweets when working families have more money in their pockets to take their kids out for a treat. Now, Eugeneans won’t have to choose between taking care of their families and missing a day of work.”

“This is a big forward step for Eugene’s economy that will help employees better manage their work and personal responsibilities simultaneously,” said Rob Cohen, co-owner of Falling Sky Brewery. “Our employees are the heart of our business. We’re proud to provide them with paid sick leave, so they can pay their bills even when they get sick. Now all employees will have that protection too!”

“When you do your best by your employees, they stick around and give you their best, so it really works for everyone,” noted Gavin McComas, owner of Sundance Natural Foods. “It feels great to be part of a solution that will directly benefit so many people and that positions Eugene as a leader in our country when it comes to a triple-bottom line economy. It’s a great day for the city of Eugene, and for Eugene business owners and their employees!”

The Main Street Alliance of Oregon business owners applaud the Eugene City Council for taking action on this important issue. Despite the backdoor political dealings of the Lane County Commission — whom last week attempted to stall or block the City Council from taking action by passing three rushed ordinances — the Council and Mayor supported the 25,000 workers in the city who need this basic protection.

Paid Sick Days: Good for Workers, Good for Business

Posted on Blog by · May 14, 2014 10:32 AM

//www.youtube.com/embed/e7aUP0rJVv8?rel=0

Tony Sandkamp, owner of Sandkamp Woodworks in New Jersey, is a supporter of paid sick days for workers – because it makes sense for employees, and it makes sense for his company’s bottom line. Sandkamp, a Main Street Alliance leader, recently joined a panel of business leaders at the New York Regional Forum on Working Families, organized by the White House and the Department of Labor.

Part of the discussion focused on paid sick days. While many employees take it for granted that their employer will still pay them if they are forced to stay home sick a few days each year,many more workers are not given the option. If employees don’t come to work, they aren’t paid. Even scarier, if they miss work because of sickness, they risk losing their job.

“It’s ironic that I am advocating for paid sick leave, given that I think the last sick day I personally took was when I broke my leg in the third grade,” said Sandkamp. “When I worked for the airlines back in my twenties, I earned the ‘perfect attendance’ award for three consecutive years.

“But paid sick days just makes common sense – even for me and my small business,” said Sandkamp.

He has owned a custom woodworking business in Jersey City for more than 20 years. Sandkamp makes furniture and cabinets that are unique and one of kind – any mistakes can be very costly.

“A few years back, we were working on a cabinet, and the entire piece was coming from one tree, which required us to carefully match the grains of wood. It was very intricate work, and required a lot of concentration.

“One of my employees was cutting the veneers and cut them the wrong way. It was all the veneer we had left. He came into my office after he made the mistake. He had obviously been crying. He was a man who took great pride in his work,” said Sandkamp.

“What I didn’t know was that he had a fever. It was the flu season. But he came to work anyway, because he needed the pay. This man was the sole provider for his family. We started the cabinet over again, and lost a month’s work.

"My business bottom line is not only about dollars – it’s about keeping my employees healthy and happy."

“For me, paid sick days is a non-issue since it will improve my employee retention,” said Sandkamp. “The cost of training that employee and replacing them is many times greater. I need people to work at their best every day. If they are sick and feel financial pressure to come into work, they are much more likely to make a mistake or potentially hurt themselves."

The momentum is growing nationwide for economy-boosting policies like paid sick days. Laws requiring paid sick days have been passed in New York City, Newark, Jersey City, Portland, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and San Francisco. Small business owners across the country are getting involved at the local level to help craft and support laws that are good for small businesses, good for workers, and good for the local economy.

As we work together to build cabinets, paid sick days help build common ground, which makes my business stronger, and my employees’ lives better,” said Sandkamp.

Check out a video of the panel discussion here.

Small Business Owners Applaud Portland City Council for Unanimously Approving Paid Sick Days Ordinance

Posted on Blog · March 13, 2013 8:16 AM

Portland, OR--On March 13, the Portland City Council unanimously approved a Paid Sick Days Ordinance in a 5-0 vote, joining San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Connecticut, and fueling national momentum with dozens of campaigns to advance similar proposals across the country.

Following the vote, Jim Houser - co-owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic in Portland, and the co-chair of the Main Street Alliance of Oregon - spoke at a coalition press conference about the passage of the new ordinance:

"As a small business owner, I am proud to see Commissioner Fritz's Earned Sick Time policy pass. It's not often in politics that we all find such common ground, where we can adopt a public policy that does so much good for society as a whole and at the same time has a positive impact for small business.

"This really is a 'win-win-win' policy. Guaranteeing that workers earn sick time will promote public health, strengthen the economic vitality of our city, and help small businesses thrive. At Hawthorne Auto Clinic, we have been providing paid sick leave to our employees for decades and we have the employee loyalty to prove it. The combined expenses related to recruiting and training new staff far outweigh the cost of benefits like Earned Sick Days.

"Not only that, healthy employees are, plain and simple, better at their jobs. Even in times of hardship, the 0.4% of gross payroll that these benefits cost our company is greatly outweighed by the advantages to our business and society as a whole. Over the years, we've found that most of our employees don't even use all of their sick days; on average they use 2.7 days a year. And, when an employee does get sick, having these days available allows them to get healthier more quickly, which means they can come back to work sooner.

"The bottom line is people get sick, and they need to be able to get healthy. This is just the right thing to do."

For over a year, small business members of the Main Street Alliance of Oregon have been actively involved in providing input on policy development and promoting the benefits of paid sick leave for businesses.

The Main Street Alliance of Oregon began by surveying more than 200 Portland small business owners on the issue, finding widespread support for the concept of paid sick leave.

Small business leaders then became directly involved in helping to craft the ordinance, through participation in a workgroup and ongoing stakeholder meetings convened by City Commissioner Amanda Fritz.

In January, the Main Street Alliance of Oregon joined with the VOIS Business Alliance to release a report showing that the benefits of earned sick time for small businesses outweigh the costs.

As the ordinance worked its way through the city council, members of the Main Street Alliance of Oregon continued to bring small business voices to the conversation through public hearings, meetings with council members, and directly with the media.

Below is a compilation of press coverage highlighting Main Street Alliance of Oregon small business leaders joining the public conversation to advance paid sick days in Portland.

OREGONIAN | Letters: Seeking public consensus on paid sick leave
2/27/2013
http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2013/02/letters_seeking_public_consens.html
As a local small business owner who supports a Portland sick leave ordinance, I was disturbed by Dan Yates' recent opinion piece. The presumption that there hasn't been sufficient process on this issue, or that it has been rushed, is as spurious as the presumption that this law would be bad for business. Yates is wrong on both counts.

PORTLAND BIZ JOURNAL | Businesses benefit from paid sick leave
2/22/2013
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/print-edition/2013/02/22/businesses-benefit-from-paid-sick-leave.html
ON Jan. 17, City Commissioner Amanda Fritz announced a proposal for earned sick time in Portland. As local, independent business owners, we have a personal stake in this debate. Our conclusion on earned sick time for Portland is simple: we're all for it.

OREGONIAN | Small businesses find their own voices - and views - on immigration, sick leave and more
2/8/2013
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/02/small_biz_decide.html#incart_river_default
Increasingly, small businesses are separating from the pack and speaking for themselves on social, political and economic issues. While the movement is relatively low-key for now, it represents a pushback by small-business owners who believe large corporations and their lobbyists have for too long assumed they were speaking for all businesses.

PORTLAND TRIBUNE | Proponents talk up sick-leave plan at council hearing
1/31/2013
http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/127580-proponents-talk-up-sick-leave-plan-at-council-hearing
Bill Dickey, co-owner of a 30-employee printing company, Morel Ink, likened the mandate to workers' compensation insurance, which employers must pay to fund protections for workers injured on the job. "I want to avoid the flu or common cold rolling through the company, whenever possible," Dickey said.

KOIN | Proponents talk up sick-leave plan at council hearing
1/31/2013
http://www.koinlocal6.com/news/local/story/Proponents-talk-up-sick-leave-plan-at-council/SJWaH1jdDkmAEiI55krsGA.cspx
Bill Dickey, co-owner of a 30-employee printing company, Morel Ink, likened the mandate to workers' compensation insurance, which employers must pay to fund protections for workers injured on the job. "I want to avoid the flu or common cold rolling through the company, whenever possible," Dickey said.

OREGONIAN | With one hearing down, Portland City Council pushes forward on earned sick leave rule
1/31/2013
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/01/with_one_hearing_down_portland.html
Business owners spoke on both sides of the issue, but opposition came largely from owners who think a sick leave policy would be too onerous for many start ups.

DAILY ASTORIAN | Sick Leave Proposal Brings Mixed Reaction Portland's Business Owners
1/31/2013
http://www.dailyastorian.com/news/northwest/sick-leave-proposal-brings-mixed-reaction-portland-s-business-owners/article_b2299bde-ef3a-5094-b322-8e3e1efcc323.html
Houser said, "There are basic workplace standards that we've come to accept now that at one time were considered 'oh my goodness it's gonna bring the world down.'"

OPB | Portland's Business Owners Split On Proposed Sick Leave Plan
1/30/2013
http://www.opb.org/news/article/portlands-proposed-sick-leave-ordinance-brings-mixed-reaction-from-business-owners/
Houser believes mandating sick leave is long overdue. He likens it to minimum wage and workers' compensation.

OREGONIAN | Your comments: Paid sick leave for Portland businesses (poll results)
1/29/2013
http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2013/01/your_comments_paid_sick_leave.html
Quotes small business owners supporting paid sick days. Reader poll supportive of paid sick days.

NW LABOR PRESS | Sick leave ordinance goes before Portland City Council
1/29/2013
http://nwlaborpress.org/2013/01/sick-leave-ordinance-to-portland-city-council/
Blog mentions small business support.

OREGONIAN | Mandated sick leave for Portland businesses gains support: downtown and Northwest Portland news
1/28/2013
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/01/mandated_sick_leave_for_portla_1.html
As debate continues, two groups throw support behind paid sick leave: The Main Street Alliance of Oregon and VOIS Business Alliance, small business advocacy groups, are calling a proposal to set a citywide sick time standard a "win-win policy for small businesses and workers across the city," Ryan Kost reports.

OREGONIAN | As debate continues, two groups throw support behind paid sick leave: Portland City Hall roundup
1/25/2013
http://blog.oregonlive.com/portlandcityhall/2013/01/as_debate_continues_two_groups.html
Two small business advocacy groups are calling a proposal to set a citywide sick time standard a "win-win policy for small businesses and workers across the City.

PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL | Portland's sick-leave proposal divides businesses
1/25/2013
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/print-edition/2013/01/25/portlands-sick-leave-proposal-divides.html
Brian Snyder, co-owner of Pine St. Biscuits, is all for the plan.
"We think it will save our business money in the long run," Snyder said.

THINK PROGRESS | Philadelphia, Portland City Councils Consider Offering Workers Paid Sick Leave
1/25/2013
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/01/25/1498821/philadelphia-portland-paid-sick-leave/?mobile=nc
A report from the Main Street Alliance of Oregon, which supports paid sick leave, said business expenses would grow at most by 1.9 percent under the law.

THE LUND REPORT | Fritz proposes paid sick days ordinance, invites community conversation
1/24/2013
http://www.thelundreport.org/resource/fritz_proposes_paid_sick_days_ordinance_invites_community_conversation
Mercer said the Main Street Alliance conducted a poll of businesses in Portland and around the state, asking how many of them would like to provide paid sick days for their employees. Eighty percent of Portland businesses said they would, and 46 percent of businesses around the state said they would like to.

PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL | Public meeting zeroes in on sick leave details
1/23/2013
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2013/01/23/public-meeting-zeroes-in-on-sick-leave.html
The proposal has created a rift in the local business community, with some business owners opposing it on practical grounds, fearing a costly new regulation, while others support it in the interest of raising standards citywide.

OPB | Should Portland Mandate Sick Leave?
1/23/2013
http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/should-portland-mandate-sick-leave/
Radio show includes small businesses supporting paid sick days

How Much Does Employee Turnover Really Cost Your Business?

Posted on Blog · December 09, 2011 10:21 AM

Turnover is costly. Despite the harm it can cause to the bottom line, many businesses do not actually know how much turnover costs them. Policies that support workers, such as paid sick days, a fair minimum wage, investments in workforce training, and work sharing, can help decrease turnover and reduce these costs.

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have developed a handy online turnover calculator to estimate how much turnover actually costs a business.

Click here to check out the CLASP/CEPR turnover calculator.

Main Street Alliance Supports Paid Sick Days

Posted on Blog · August 23, 2011 2:44 PM

The Main Street Alliance voted recently to officially endorse a new issue: paid sick days. Why do small business owners care about this issue? For a wide range of reasons - like workplace productivity, public health, and a commitment to treating workers like family. In short, it seems like the right thing to do... and it makes good business sense, too.

The productivity case alone is a strong one. According to the Center for Worklife Law, "presenteeism" (employees going to work even though they're sick) costs U.S. employers and the U.S. economy an estimated $180 billion a year in lost productivity. When workers don't have access to earned sick time, they're more likely to go to work sick, risk infecting co-workers (and potentially customers), get less done, and take longer to get back to 100 percent.

We'll be posting periodic updates about paid sick days in the weeks and months to come. In the meantime, if you're looking to learn more, check out this nifty infographic from medicalinsurance.org.

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