The following is an excerpt from a Buffalo News editorial:

“Business owners say that raising the minimum wage will force them to increase prices or employ fewer workers. If that happens it’s hard to see who wins besides, as one business owner told The News, the government through taxes.

But then that’s not entirely true. The government would hardly collect more taxes, based on a higher minimum wage, if businesses are discouraged from expanding or holding employment steady because labor costs are rising dramatically.

New York State is trying desperately to undo decades of legislation that has made it more and more difficult to do business in the state. Our maverick Democratic governor has pledged$1 billion over five years to bring jobs to Western New York. That money is necessary to overcome the state’s anti-business climate. An increase in the state’s minimum wage would counteract those efforts and, as business groups contend, would cost the state jobs by driving up payroll costs at a time when the economy is struggling.”

To read more click here.

Russel Sykes of the New York Post writes - “Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wants to raise the state’s minimum wage by 17 percent, to $8.50 an hour, and link it to inflation, guaranteeing more yearly increases. But there are much better ways to help the working poor - including one that Silver shares credit for: a refundable state tax credit.

The speaker says a higher minimum wage will help the poor without harming the economy. But much evidence suggests he’s wrong on both counts.”

Glen Blain of the NY Daily News writes:

“The Senate’s top Republican warned Tuesday a raise in the state’s minimum wage could be a ‘job killer.’

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) hasn’t reviewed the Assembly’s plan to raise the wage to $8.50 an hour, but cast doubt on whether it would pass muster.

‘It’s always been about jobs,’ Skelos said. ‘This could be a job killer rather than a job promoter.’

Skelos’ concerns echo those of state business groups that also warned against raising the minium wage because of its impact on the state’s economy.”

To read more click here.

In a NY Post article, Erik Kriss cites a study showing that raising the minimum wage hurts private sector employment:

“The study compared employment trends in New York between 2004 and 2006 — when the Empire State raised its minimum wage twice — with those in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Hampshire, where there was no increase.

While prior studies suggested every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage led to a 1 to 3 percent drop in employment for less-skilled employees, the authors said the new study found a 7 percent dip for young high-school dropouts.”

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James Madore writes in Newsday - “The State Legislature’s top Democrat said Thursday he wants to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to at least $8 and to tie future increases to the inflation rate.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he hopes to introduce the legislation by Jan. 31. He estimated more than 1.2 million people, or 14 percent of the workforce across New York, would be affected by boosting the state’s minimum wage above the federal rate of $7.25 per hour…

The National Federation of Independent Business and the Business Council of New York State both decried Silver’s proposal, saying it would make companies uncompetitive and lead to job cuts.

“Passing a law that makes New York the most expensive place in the region to hire new employees would be counterproductive,” said the NFIB’s Mike Durant, referring to the $7.25-per-hour wage rates of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.”

In a statement sent to Newsday, Business Council President Heather Briccetti said, “”Although we would like to see the details of the Speaker’s plan, The Business Council believes that the way to improve our state’s economy and the lives of all New Yorkers is to create more private-sector jobs. Raising the minimum wage would only hurt New York’s small businesses, farms and not-for-profits that are struggling to make their current payrolls, and reduce job opportunities, in this difficult economy.”

To read more from Newsday click here.

The New York Times (10/27, Vlasic, Subscription Publication) reports, “The last of the major automaker labor contracts was ratified on Wednesday when officials of the United Automobile Workers union announced that employees at Chrysler had approved a four-year agreement.”

The Detroit Free Press (10/27, Snavely) reports, “After a week of close voting on a tentative new labor contract, the UAW reported Wednesday that 54.8% of Chrysler’s total 26,000 hourly workers had voted in favor of the deal, but 55.6% of the 5,000 skilled-trades workers voted against it.”

The Detroit News (10/27, Rogers, Priddle) reports, “Ratification at Chrysler means that all three Detroit automakers have signed contracts through September 2015. Most workers won’t get raises, but they will get bonuses and profit sharing, as well as commitments for additional and preserved plant jobs - 2,100 at Chrysler. Also covering the story are the Wall Street Journal (10/27, Bennett, Subscription Publication), Bloomberg News (10/27, Trudell, Higgins), Reuters (10/27, Seetharaman, Woodall), the AP (10/27, Krisher), AFP (10/27), CNNMoney (10/27) and other media sources.

Jeremy Smerd writes in Crain’s New York Business(subscription-based)- “Business groups are hopeful that the climate in Albany is ripe for changing New York’s “scaffold law,” which, they argue, makes employers, contractors and property owners liable for nearly all workplace-related injuries.

Past attempts to repeal the century-old law have failed, opponents believe, because Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver protects trial lawyers. But with a moribund economy and a governor advertising that New York is open for business, that could change.

Business groups have also switched tactics. The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York has joined with the Business Council of New York State, the New York Farm Bureau, the Associated General Contractors of New York State and other industry groups to seek reform, rather than repeal, of the law.

“It’s certainly going to be an uphill battle,” said Tom Stebbins of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance. “But New York state is looking for jobs. This can bring those jobs back.”

He cites a study by the Pacific Research Institute that says changes to the scaffold law could create as many as 86,000 construction jobs. The University of Albany is also working on a study this fall to reveal how much municipalities pay to settle workplace-injury cases.”

To read more click here.

A new coalition of New York employers, farmers and others has joined together to make a major push to reform New York’s century-old “Scaffold Law” to help promote economic growth and recovery throughout New York.

Under New York’s Scaffold Law, contractors, employers and property owners are held absolutely liable for “elevation related injuries.” When an injured worker sues, the contractor, employer, or owner is automatically liable even if they weren’t at fault.

New York remains the only state in the nation where a worker is not held responsible for his or her own negligence. Illinois was the last to reform the law, in 1995, and the effect was immediate: 50,000 new jobs and a sharp decrease in workplace injuries. By reforming the law, workplace safety will be improved.

“New York State’s elected officials must confront the fact that simply doing business here is more expensive than in almost every other state. The Scaffold Law is ‘Exhibit A’ of our outdated and biased legal system,” said Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY). “Reforming the Scaffold Law will be a first step to getting our economy moving again and sending a message that much-needed change has reached New York State.”

The tremendous costs of the Scaffold Law are passed along to all New Yorkers. Since there is virtually no defense against a million-dollar Scaffold Law suit, the cost of general liability insurance in New York is extremely high, driving up costs for all construction projects, including taxpayer-funded projects like infrastructure improvements and school construction. This has a significant impact on New York: construction costs go up, employers hire fewer workers (or must lay off those they do have) and the economy suffers.

The new Scaffold Law Reform coalition is supporting Assembly Bill 2835 (D- Morelle), which would give New York property owners, business owners, contractors and municipalities the chance to defend themselves in court when an injury occurs due to negligence. The bill would not prevent injured workers from suing their employers or prevent injured workers from receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

The coalition has launched a new website – www.scaffoldlaw.org – to educate New Yorkers about the issue and to encourage grassroots supporters to contact their legislators to express their support for reform.

“The Scaffold Law is more than 100 years old. A lot has changed in those years to help improve working conditions, including the development of OSHA standards and workers’ compensation. We need to modify this antiquated law which now serves as nothing more than an increase to the cost of doing business in New York and a deterrent to the creation of new jobs. In the end, every New Yorker pays the price,” said Stebbins.

# # #

Members of the Scaffold Law Reform Coalition include:
• Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York
• Associated General Contractors of New York State
• Business Council of New York State
• New York Farm Bureau
• National Federation of Independent Business
• Unshackle Upstate
• The New York State Builders Association

On Saturday, June 4th , state house members in Connecticut voted to mandate paid sick leave for hundreds of thousands of service workers. The House voted 76 to 65 to approve the bill which had been approved by an 18-to-17 vote in the state Senate on May 25. Gov. Malloy, a first-term Democrat, is expected to sign the bill.

The bill applies only to businesses with 50 or more employees. It exempts manufacturing companies and nationally chartered nonprofit organizations, day laborers, independent contractors and temporary workers. The measure covers only service workers including waiters, cashiers, fast-food cooks, hair stylists, security guards and nursing home aides.

It mandates employers to credit one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked, with a maximum of five days per year.

Here is New York State, state level bills mandating sick time for employees have been introduced for years but have stayed in committee with no further action. However, in New York City, the City Council held hearings on mandated sick days in both 2009 and 2010. In October 2010, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn decided that she would not bring the bill to a vote. However, a vote by the NY City Council remains possible anytime in the future.

The Business Council opposes this bill which would mandate utility companies and their contractors to pay public works-related prevailing wage to all their employees working on projects requiring street opening permits.

Requiring utilities to pay “prevailing wages” will increase utility’s cost of necessary infrastructure upgrades and repairs, and these increased costs will ultimately be paid by their business and residential customers.

There is no compelling reason to treat these utility projects as “public works” for prevailing wage purposes. Moreover, prevailing wage rates are typically based on union contracts, which reflect circumstances and conditions that may be unique to those parties. Under existing law, the “prevailing wage” represents one of the final products of extensive negotiations between labor and management involving potentially dozens of wage and non-wage issues. To impose these negotiated wages into the increasingly competitive energy and communications industries is inappropriate, antithetical to competition, and likely only to create upward pressure on consumer prices.

To read the rest of the bill memo click here.