Sick Day (General)

Today, I am under the weather. As I switched on the TV, I heard a news story about legislation in Congress to force small businesses to offer 7 paid sick days each year to every employee. Even feeling as poorly as I do right now, I was able to scream at the newscaster on TV. Now before you scream at me, I realize that at this very moment, I am taking a paid sick day and this might sound a little hypocritical! I understand that my employer is paying for me to sit home and recover today and that I won’t be reprimanded for being ill. I also know this is a benefit of my employment and I have never appreciated it so much as I do today. I also inquired about the benefits of the job before I took it. Small businesses have to compete in a dynamic, competitive marketplace and we need to keep government from burdening them with regulations, and free them to compete, for customers and employees! If small businesses need to offer sick days to remain competitive…believe me they will offer them. If a business chooses not to offer sick days, an employee is free to seek other employment. That is part of the free market system! Our federal government is quick to legislate things that sound great, hoping to be re-elected, and then demand small businesses pay the bill… and that cost will usually be passed on to you and me! I have been an entrepreneur all my life, and I know what it feels like to be sick and still have to open for business. I also know what the cost of health insurance, drug testing, insurance requirements, workman’s comp, and mandated sick days do to the cost of running a business. Your choice is to raise your prices and hope you can still compete, go out of business, or to creatively craft a benefit plan that you can afford, attract the best workers, reduce your turnover costs, and provide a value to your clients that they will pay a little extra to experience. Starbucks offers health insurance, attracts some great employees and we pay $4 for a latte. I say let the marketplace determine how small businesses compete, not the lawmaker in Washington who has never had to meet a payroll. Creativity and competition is how to move a business forward, not legislation…and yes, there is a time for legislation when it comes to safety and security, but legislation of every aspect of small business is enough to make me sick…but then I would just take another sick day and that might not help my argument here…