Across Connecticut on Monday, there were plenty of parents who woke up with one of the biggest headaches a parent faces — a sick child.  (Attorneys are not immune to the colds and bugs that traverse the state.)

Finding emergency day care, or having to take an unscheduled vacation day are two issues that families have to confront. And the ramifications are large: employers are left to scramble for coverage and daily plans are scrapped.  In the wintertime, cold season just wreaks havoc at some point or another on virtually everyone in the workplace.

Against this backdrop, boosters of the paid sick leave bill (H.B. 6187) that has been introduced in the General Assembly held a press conference on Monday:

They want lawmakers to require every business of 50 employees or more to grant workers one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours of work with a cap of 6.5 paid days per year.  You can find the text of the bill here.

Last year (as you can find in my previous posts), there was strong opposition to the bill, including the Connecticut Business and Industry Association.  You can find the CBIA’s rationale for opposing the bill here.

There are valid arguments to be made for both opposing and favoring the bill. But ultimately, it’s hard to see how much has changed. If anything, the difficult economic climate gives opponents of the bill further ammunition to support the claim that further regulation on Connecticut’s employers at this time will place them at a serious disadvantage. 

In any event, with the Governor voicing her opposition to it and the budget issues dominating this session, don’t expect to see any quick action on this bill. It still faces a significant uphill battle.