LD1665 “An Act to Prevent the Spread of H1N1″ Written Testimony
TO: The Joint Standing Committee on Labor
• Representative David A. Wie
• Senator Deborah L. Simpson
Re: LD1665 “An Act to Prevent the Spread of H1N1
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Allow me to introduce myself, I am Robert M. Smith, Jr., and I am the Human Resource Manager for data masked in data masked. I have ten years of professional experience, a Bachelors of Science Degree in the Management of Human Resource and hold the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification. I am here today to express my opposition to LD 1665 – An Act to Prevent the Spread of H1N1.
The H1N1 ‘emergency’ has been successfully prevented. The government has done a superb job with increasing public awareness. Businesses and schools have implemented plans that are working. Vaccinations are widely available, affordable and accepted. Hand washing and hand sanitizers are the norm. All of these culturally cooperative activities are working in fine fashion.
From the most recent CDC FluView report: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm
• Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) nationally decreased this week over last week.
• The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) based on the 122 Cities Report decreased over the previous week and is back below the epidemic threshold.
The vigilance of We The People have made this emergency moot.
The true nature of this bill is now revealed, a full scale assault on the ability of Maine businesses to competitively survive and thrive in a global economy. IF passed, the expansive mandated sick-leave entitlements prescribed in this bill increase costs by adding additional administrative complexity and increasing direct bottom-line affected costs. This builds yet another barrier to recruiting the new businesses needed to restore Maine’s labor force, and ultimately Maine’s much needed taxation revenues.
IF passed, companies will be forced to fund this unfunded mandate with current total compensation dollars. This will be done using a Pay-Go philosophy so as to not experience any net increase in bottom line costs. (The only other way of funding would be to pass the cost through to customers via price increases. This is unacceptable as it further erodes the competitive edge needed to survive and thrive.) Expense transfer opportunities include:
• Use current paid holiday dollars.
o This effectively eliminates six paid holidays.
• Future pay raises would be impacted.
o My company is currently in year two of pay raise freezes, pay reductions, and a cap on hours worked.
• Increase employee contributions towards health care premiums.
• Restructure the 401(k) company match
The bottom line being, the expense of this unfunded entitlement mandate will be passed to employees, not through increased costs to critically needed customers. Let me be clear, this legislation should not be passed.
Sincerely,
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